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Flash floods threaten 60 Cagayan Valley villages

TUGUEGARAO CITY – At least 60 villages in Cagayan Valley are in danger of being wiped out by flash floods if no preventive measures, which would cost the government at least P3 billion, would be undertaken soonest. According to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, these flood-prone areas are all situated along the Cagayan River system, which stretches from Nueva Vizcaya’s mighty Magat River to the mouth of Cagayan River in Aparri, Cagayan.

The study cited need for massive construction of riverbank and flood control protection structures along Cagayan River and its tributaries to save the critical areas from being ravaged, if not totally wiped out from the country’s map.

But of the identified flood-prone areas in the region, the Department of Public Works and Highways said it is only capable of constructing riverbank and flood protection structures for eight towns and villages based on its present budget. “These are only the areas that can be covered by phase 1 of the program, wherein we have to construct dikes, revetment walls and other structures to protect the identified areas,” said engineer Eugenio Pipo, DPWH-Cagayan Valley director.

Pipo said the areas included in the first phase of the so-called Cagayan River Flood Control Project are Enrile, Cagayan; two sections in Roxas, Isabela; Cauayan City and Angadanan in Isabela; and several towns in Nueva Vizcaya.

At least P3 billion is needed to fully protect the critical areas along the Cagayan River, according to the JICA study.

Other flood-prone areas in the region are the towns of Solano, Bayombong, Bagabag and Bambang in Nueva Vizcaya; the northern towns of Isabela, including its capital town of Ilagan; and the downstream towns and southwestern part of Cagayan province.

Some of these identified areas are below sea level, making them natural catch basins of floodwater.

Aggravating the problem is the siltation of major rivers as a result of the 1990 earthquake and the continued denudation of forests in the region. -- CL