Six dead, thousands flee flood-hit Region 2 towns

By Charlie Lagasca

TUGUEGARAO CITY— The provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, and Quirino were again hit by widespread flooding due to heavy rains even as landslides hit major roads in Apayao province Wednesday blocking major routes.

Apayao police director Senior Supt. Nestor Bergonia said no one was hurt in the landslides along Barangay Lutuacan in Kabugao, Apayao’s capital, and Barangay Mabahong in Calanasan which rendered these areas isolated from the rest of the province.

Disaster officials also reported portions of the main highway, the Cabugao-Conner Road, and the Claveria-Calanasan Road were also hit by landslides.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council initially reported 117 families from the towns of Baggao, Lasam, Camalaniugan, Peñablanca and Tuguegarao have abandoned their houses due to rising floodwaters coming from the overflowing Cagayan River.

In Manila, NDRMMC executive director and retired Army Gen. Benito Ramos, meanwhile, clarified they have yet to receive reports that six were buried alive in a landslide that hit Barangays Diposo and Libertad, in San Mariano, Isabela.

But Col. Arnulfo Marcos, 502nd Infantry Brigade commander confirmed six persons were buried alive in a series of landslides that hit barangays Diposo and Libertad.

The fatalities were identified as Janet Balao, 32; Jayline Balao, nine; Erica Balao, six; and five-month-old Rachel, also surnamed Balao of Barangay Libertad and Arnold Tumbaga, nine, of Barangay Diposo and Corazon Allam, 77, of Tuguegarao City was killed earlier.

“There’s widespread flooding in the entire Cagayan Valley,” Marcos told the media.
He said in the capital town of Ilagan, as well as in San Mariano and Gamu towns the Army had to be called in to assist stranded residents.

In Quirino Province, 145 families from the town of Saguday have been evacuated to the barangay hall in Burgos in the nearby Cabarrugis town as their village was submerged by floodwaters.

Ramos reported that 15 villages in Casiguran, Aurora were also under floodwaters due to continuous rains since Nov. 1, dis placing 350 families or 1,750 individuals.

“Due to the prevailing cold front, it has been raining heavily in Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon over the past three days,” Ramos said.

As of Friday, major roads in Casiguran were not passable to all types of vehicles either due to landslides and flooding.
Only last month Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Region, the Cordillera Administrative Region as well as Central Luzon were ravaged by typhoon Juan, leaving 26 persons dead and more than P3 billion in damages.

In related developments, the Magat Dam hydro-electric facility continued to release water from its reservoir as it is now just a meter away from its maximum critical level amid the constant rainfall since earlier this week.

Engineer Saturnino Tenedor of the National Irrigation Administration, which operates the dam’s irrigation facility, said they have been releasing water from the dam to avoid reaching its maximum critical level of 194 meters.

The water elevation at the Magat Dam, whose vital irrigation and power facilities are located along the Isabela-Ifugao border, has been no lower than 193 meters since Tuesday.

But the state-run NIA said it is releasing rain water in gradual and controlled volume to prevent flooding along villages near its periphery as well as in downstream towns in Isabela and Cagayan.