Dagupan folk brace for extended flooding

By Gabriel L. Cardinoza

DAGUPAN CITY, Pangasinan -- As Super Typhoon "Egay" left the country on Thursday, July 27, residents here braced for an extended flooding after the water level of a river traversing this coastal city threatened to overflow.
    In a social media post, the city government called on residents to prepare for the "possible release of flood water" from the Sinocalan river, which cuts through this city before exiting to the Lingayen Gulf.
    As of 9 a.m. on Thursday, 16 villages of this city were still flooded because of continuous rain and high tide, a report of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said.
    These are the villages of Calmay, Salapingao, Bonuan Gueset, Mayombo, Lasip Chico, Lasip Grande, Carael, Pogo Grande, Tambac, Poblacion Oeste, Tapuac, Lucao, Bacayao Sur, Herrero-Perez, Malued and Bonuan Binloc.
Dagupan City has an average elevation of one meter above sea level and a high tide of more than one meter immediately floods at least seven villages.
    At present, 97 families consisting of 351 individuals are still in the city's different evacuation centers.
    A tornado that hit parts of this city partly or totally damaged 109 houses, most of them in the villages of Salapingao and Pantal.
    Typhoon Egay also caused an increase in the retail price of this city's famous bangus (milkfish).
    From P130 a kilogram, it is now P140 a kg.
    The Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said as of 5 a.m., also on Thursday, the water level of the Sinocalan river in Calasiao town has reached 7.5 feet (2.3 meters), which is 6 inches above its critical level of 7 feet (2.13 meters).
    Zaldy Malit of the Calasiao Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) said if the river overflows in his town, about 90 percent or 22 of its villages will be under water.
    In Santa Barbara town, disaster response officials were also closely watching the water level at the Sinocalan river.
Gonzalo Jovero Jr. of the town's DRRMO said once the water level reached 7 meters, they will conduct a preemptive evacuation in the four villages on its path.
    Sinocalan has its headwaters on Mount Ampucao in Benguet province.
    It traverses the towns of San Manuel, Binalonan, Laoac, Mapandan, Sta. Barbara and Calasiao and Dagupan City.
    The Agno River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (ARBFFWC) in Rosales town has warned of flooding in low- lying areas in the towns abutting the Agno river.
    In its Flood Bulletin No. 2 issued at 5 a.m., also on Thursday, the ARBFFWC said it recorded 60.1 millimeter rainfall in the basin in the last 36 hours, and expects a 20 mm rainfall in the next 24 hours.
    In Bolinao town, the town's tourism office announced that Bolinao Falls in Barangay Samang Norte and Patar public beach in Barangay Patar remain closed.
    In Alaminos City, trips to the Hundred Islands National Park were only allowed using large and medium boats.
Also on Thursday, the Flood Forecasting and Warning System for Dam Operations announced that both Ambuklao and Binga dams in Benguet have opened all their spillway gates to release excess water to the Agno river.
    At 9 a.m., also on Thursday, Ambuklao had all of its eight gates open with a total gate opening of 5 meters, while Binga had all of its six gates open with a gate opening of 5.5 meters.
    Ambuklao had a water level of 751.3 meters above sea level, which is just 0.7 meter from its normal high water level of 752 masl.
    Binga had a water level of 574.63 masl.
    Its normal high water level is 575 masl.
    As cascading dams, water released by Ambuklao from the upper Agno river in Bokod, Benguet, flows to Binga, which is approximately 19 kilometers downstream of Ambuklao.
    Water released by Binga goes to the San Roque dam, downstream of the Agno river in San Manuel, Pangasinan.
    At 9 a.m., also on Thursday, San Roque dam had a water elevation of 247.13 masl, about 32.87 m from its normal high value of 280 masl.