Rehab teams deployed in ravaged Isabela towns: Death toll rises to 13 in NL flooding

Kalinga Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council members fill family packs for victims relocated in evacuation centers in Rizal town and Tabuk City in Kalinga. The province experienced continuous heavy rains these past weeks. -- Gigi Dumallig

By Charlie Lagasca, Gigi Dumallig and Larry Lopez

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – A total of 13 persons were killed in northern Luzon, majority of them in landslides due to continuous rain and strong wins the past two weeks.

Disaster officials said 10 of these fatalities were from Cagayan, two from Central Luzon and one from Cordillera.

Two people from Aurora province were injured while two others from Cagayan region are missing.

The number of affected families has risen to 106,923 or 417,318 persons.

Of these, 2,517 families or 11,763 persons were brought inside 69 evacuation centers.

NDRRMC Executive Director Benito Ramos said people are starting to return to their homes as flood waters are starting to subside.

The floods damaged 46 houses located in parts of Aurora, Cagayan, and Apayao.

Over 500 barangays in 45 municipalities in six provinces in Cagayan Valley Region (Region 2), Central Luzon and Cordillera were affected.

Regional police reports reaching Camp Crame, the national police headquarters said total number of families affected has increased from 67,459 families or 250,865 persons to 106,923 families or 417,318 persons.

Reports said authorities in affected areas checked effect of the floodings to road sections and six bridges in Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora and Apayao.

The collapsed portion of Mt. Musimos in Lubuagan, Kalinga resulted in an embankment and has impounded large volume of water.

In Kalinga, heavy rains left one dead and flooded several households in the municipalities of Tabuk and Rizal.

Reported dead was a certain Leon Liagao, who was trapped when a landslide totally buried his house located in Brookside, Bulanao, Tabuk City.

According to Kalinga Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council coordinator and Office of Civil Defense officer Cristeta Reyes, the body of Liagao was retrieved from the slide Nov. 4 after rescuers responded to a distress call from the victim’s neighbors.

With the heavy downpour, the PDRRMC according to Reyes immediately converged preparing the rescue teams for retrieval operations because of the rapid swelling of the Chico River and water along the irrigation canals.

Two evacuation centers were set up in Tabuk which accommodated eight families rescued from Laya East.

Other evacuees opted to stay with relatives in other barangays.

In Rizal, the local government set up eight evacuation centers where at least 56 families were reported to have stayed for the night.

The Philippine National Red Cross delivered relief goods to affected families in areas worst hit by the super typhoon in Kalinga.

PNRC Kalinga Chapter Head Glorina Diaz said relief items are 1000 pieces each of plastic mats, mosquito nets, and hygiene kits (with towel, tooth brush, tooth paste, shampoo, soap and powder), 415 pieces blankets, 580 bath towels and 1,200 food packs.

Diaz said PNRC-Kalinga coordinated with local government officials and the Army in the distribution of the items in barangays of Agbannawag, Lanna, Ileb, Nambaran, Balong, Bulo and San Juan – Isla of Tabuk municipality; barangays Apatan and Malagnat of Pinukpuk and barangays Santor and Romualdez of Rizal.

The PRC items augmented earlier distributions made by local disaster councils at the height of typhoon Juan last Oct. 18 that affected 34,000 families and left P380M worth of damages in infrastructure and crops in Kalinga.

According to Diaz, additional relief assistance is coming from PNRC headquarters intended to cover other areas affected.

Reports from Red Cross Kalinga showed 20,726 families were affected in Tabuk, 6,425 in Pinukpuk and 2,766 in Rizal, where initial distributions were given by PRC.

Volunteer nurses deployed with PRC Kalinga assisted in the distribution of the items to target barangays.

Family packs were delivered to evacuees.

During two days of heavy rains, the Department of Public Works and Highways declared the Tabuk-Tuguegarao Road temporarily closed due to massive flooding of the road along Liwan East in Rizal making road visibility along the national highway difficult.

As of press time, said road is now passable for all types of vehicles.

Meanwhile, the PDRRMC clarified a report that a certain Reagan “Agpad” Wangi drowned and died based on reports delivered to the Action Center.

As per verification, hospital records show that Wangi was admitted at the Kalinga Provincial Hospital at 9:05 a.m. of Nov. 4 diagnosed with acute gastro enteritis and was suffering from severe dehydration.

Nurses said he was admitted but died the same day at.

Agricultural damage caused by the massive flooding in Northern Luzon has exceeded P316 million, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

NDRRMC said agricultural losses in Cagayan region last week totaled P313.75 million, representing 30,092 hectares of palay and corn. On the other hand, damage to agriculture in Central Luzon hit P2.44 million and covered 78 hectares of rice, vegetable, fruit trees, and fishery.

Based on these statistics, agricultural losses posted by regions affected by the flood totaled about P316.19 million.

This, as the 60-man “Amianan Recovery” team composed of sailors and Marines from the Navy reached Divilacan town last week, one of the three typhoon Juan-devastated Pacific coast towns of Isabela being prioritized for relief and rehabilitation efforts.

The said team aboard the BRP Dagupan City or LC 551 logistical support vessel brought along with them the equipment needed to conduct road clearing, create communication lines and conduct needed engineering assistance for the typhoon-hit coastal areas.

The task group was activated in the aftermath of typhoon Juan to alleviate the plight of residents who were heavily affected in the province, to help in road clearing, and to undertake other engineering assistance,” said Navy Col. Ariel Caculitan, acting director of the Naval Affairs Office.

The mission team, which also brought along with them 66 tons of relief goods, consists of 60-man rescue as well as medical, engineering and communication experts.

Besides Divilacan, the mission is also set to conduct relief and rehabilitation activities in the coastal towns of Palanan and Maconacon, whose power and communication facilities have yet to be normalized since typhoon Juan lashed through the province two weeks ago.

The typhoon, the worst to hit Isabela and the rest of the region in recent years, also brought severe damage to the towns’ road networks as well as school and residential buildings.

After a 10-day setback due to heavy rains, the relief mission finally arrived over the weekend at Aubarede Point in Divilacan town, instead of the usual landing in Palanan town.

The said rains had earlier caused the members of the mission to wait it out at Port Irene, Santa Ana, Cagayan, until the weather relatively cleared up.
Members of the elite Special Action Force and Mobile Group of the Philippine National Police have been dispatched in Isabela and Cagayan to assist families displaced and affected by floodings caused by heavy rains in the area.

PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr. said SAF and police MG were deployed to help families, who were forced to vacate their houses and live along the national road in Baggao, Amulung, Alcala, Iguig, Apad and Tuguegarao in Cagayan.