6,656 families displaced: Heavy flooding isolates 24 villages in Aurora, Isabela

By Joan Capuna

SANTA MARIA, Isabela – Heavy rains since Tuesday caused flash floods that left 24 villages in Isabela and Aurora isolated, authorities said.

Thousands of people fled their homes in the two provinces after their villages were flooded due to heavy rains spawned by the northwest monsoon, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said Nov. 5.

In a bulletin, the NDCC said 6,656 families 31 barangays in the Isabela towns of Ilagan, Delfin Albano, Benito Soliven and San Mateo were moved to higher places.

In Aurora, 18 barangays in Casiguran and Dilasag towns have been affected by flooding. A total of 166 families or 795 people are now temporarily housed in four evacuation centers.

Four fishermen were reported missing off Aurora.

In Ilagan, the capital town of Isabela, police said a villager, Martin de los Santos, 45, was reported missing after being swept by rampaging floodwaters from the Pinacanauan River and is now the subject of search and rescue operations.

The Ilagan municipal government suspended classes in all levels due to the alarming swelling of major rivers that inundated a number of villages and hundreds of hectares of farmlands.

In Aurora, at least nine villages in Casiguran, Aurora were isolated by floodwaters as high as two to four feet.

Meanwhile, Magat Dam engineer Saturnino Tenedor said they were forced to release water again Wednesday after several days of stalling the move due to low water level, as rains filled up the dam’s reservoir in Ramon, Isabela.

“As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the reservoir level is 189.43 meters. The inflow is 495 cubic meters per second while the outflow is 252 cubic meters per second. We are conducting normal operations under light rainfall,” Tenedor said.

Reports said most of the isolated villages are in Ilagan, while others are in Isabela’s northern areas.

At least seven bridges leading to these villages, mostly lying along the banks of the Pinacanauan and Abuan, were rendered impassable.

Among the isolated barangays were Ilagan town’s San Antonio, Allinguigan I, Allinguigan II, Agasian, Bintacan, Cabisera 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16 and 19, as well as a number of villages in Cauayan City, Angdanan, San Guillermo, Santa Maria, Cabagan and Echague.

Isabela’s disaster coordinating council began evacuating residents along riverbanks after water levels rose to alarming rates despite the lack of any typhoon signal.

Residents of Barangay Sabang, Baler town said Ferdinand Basbas, 40, and his sons Michael Patrick, 20, and Norwin, 17, and Reynell Ritual, 16 – went fishing yesterday and failed to return home.

Air Force helicopters conducted an aerial search for the four missing fishermen.
The NDCC reported a landslide in Barangay Sta. Felomina in Santa Maria, Isabela Wednesday, although nobody was reported hurt or killed.

A pick-up truck of the Department of Public Works and Highways fell into a 30-foot ravine while conducting rescue and clearing operations in the area. No casualty was reported.
Floodwaters have also rendered several roads in the two provinces impassable.

Continuous heavy rains also triggered a landslide in Tinabac, Camarines Sur early yesterday morning, destroying two houses and cutting off vehicular traffic along the national highway.

A flash flood also swept through Barangay Malobago in Sipocot town, forcing 300 residents to flee their homes. Preemptive evacuation was also conducted in Ragay town for residents along riverbanks and in low-lying areas. – With CL