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The government organizes massive search and rescue operations
AND LEANDER C. DOMINGO AND VINCE JACOB A. VISAYA
CAGAYAN was submerged in water Friday night in what local authorities described as the “worst” flood in the region since 1981, which killed more than a dozen people and affected more than 300,000, authorities said Saturday. .
The heavy flooding was caused by the release of water from the Magat dam and the continued downpour of climatic disturbances that hit the region, the most recent of which was Typhoon “Ulysses” (international name: “Vamco”).
With the level at the Magat dam, the Cagayán reservoir, rising to 192.99 meters, 0.01 meters below its spill level of 193 meters at 10 p.m., the National Irrigation Administration-Integrated Irrigation System of the Rio Magat (NIA-Mariis) was forced to open all of its seven spillway gates to about 30 meters, releasing more than 6,000 cubic meters per second (cm) of water on Friday night.
The death of at least 16 people was confirmed by the floods and a total of 343,202 residents in 22 cities and municipalities of the province of Cagayán, 25 cities and municipalities of Isabela, 15 municipalities of Nueva Vizcaya and five municipalities of Quirino were affected, National Disaster Risk Reduction. and Management Council (NDRRMC), he said.
The NIA-Mariis said it was necessary to release water from the reservoir to prevent the dam from reaching its spill level, which at 2 p.m. Saturday was at 192.18 or .82 meters from its spill level at 193 meters with an influx of 1,153 m3 / s and output of 1,340 m3 / s since only two spillway gates were opened at 4 meters.
‘On top of the situation’
Malacañang said that President Rodrigo Duterte was saddened by the situation, but was “aware of the situation.”
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said at a virtual press conference that Duterte, who was currently attending the virtual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was “in constant communication” with the NDRRMC; Departments of Defense, Welfare and Social Development, Health, Public Works and Highways; and other concerned government agencies and denied reports that the government was “surprised” by the situation in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley).
Affirming the president’s promise that “no one will be left behind,” Roque said the government will use all its resources to help the region.
“Already at dawn yesterday, the Department of Transportation, through the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), has been working 24 hours a day with the rescue of 15 people in Modelro, Sitio Pantalan and Pantabangan in Tumauini, Isabela ; 50 people in Barangay 12, city of Tuguegarao; 47 people in Pengue Ruyu, city of Tuguegarao; 13 people in Caritan Norte, Diversion Road and Anufuan West, city of Tuguegarao; and 70 people in Linao East, city of Tuguegarao, “Roque said in a separate statement.
The PCG deployed the first augmentation convoy, consisting of 10 rescue personnel, a multipurpose vehicle, a truck, and several newly acquired rubber boats, and the second Deployable Response Group or DRG convoy of 60 medical and rescue personnel, two buses, one 12-wheeled boom truck, two M-35 trucks and a total of seven drivers to assist in the ongoing rescue operations in Isabela, Tuguegarao and Cagayan, Roque said.
The rescuers are also equipped with two rubber dinghies and three generator sets, as well as 44 cans of fuel for assets and rescue vehicles.
The Palace official said another convoy, consisting of two trucks, was also on the way after loading 20 drums of fuel for the two Airbus light twin-engine helicopters of the Coast Guard that will be used to carry out the aerial extraction.
Roque said the Philippine National Police deployed 747 search and rescue personnel and 1,003 Reserve Reactive Support Forces to Region 2 starting at 6 a.m. Saturday.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in particular the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), shifted their counterinsurgency efforts to search, rescue, recovery and relief operations in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Region 2.
In addition, Roque said that Nolcom sent two Hueys from Clark to Cauayan, Isabela for operations in Cagayán, particularly Tuguegarao, for rescue operations and delivery of relief to isolated communities by non-passable roads.
NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal told The Manila Times in a text message that more than 3,700 people were deployed to support the 24-hour rescue operations of local government units (LGU) “despite the strong flood currents and low visibility. “
Vice President María Leonor “Leni” Robredo mobilized her team to help coordinate with various army and police rescue teams.
In a Facebook Live video on Friday night, just after relief operations in the city of Marikina and Rizal, Robredo said he had immediately mobilized his security team after reading social media posts calling for help from the northern part of the country.
“Our prayers for Cagayan and Isabela. Reading posts now from people asking to be rescued. We deployed our security team to coordinate with AFP all the rescue calls that we are reading now. We will be monitoring and posting updates, ”he said in a separate Twitter post Friday night.
‘Pacific Ocean’
In a radio interview, Colonel Ascio Macalan, Cagayan disaster official, said that the province has become the “Pacific Ocean.”
A total of 13,954 people remained in evacuation centers while 3,798 residents were evacuated but remained with their families, the NDRRMC said.
‘Roads disappeared’
Lieutenant Colonel Rowan Rimas, commanding officer of the 10th Marine Battalion Landing Team, appealed to the authorities saying: “Cagayan needs help. They need us. Let’s help them please. “
“The road, the roads just disappeared. Really heartbreaking. Words cannot explain how I feel right now. I know that God will give us the strength to overcome this, ”said Rimas.
He said two hours had passed and they had not yet reached the town of Iguig, which is north of the city of Tuguegarao, but was optimistic that “we will get there, slowly.”
“For now, I will stick to my mission. Bring my marines to Tuguegarao at all costs and save as many lives as possible. The people we pass by are in dire need of clean water and food. We share some of our rations with them, ”Rimas said.
Governor Manuel Mamba said that the province of Cagayan has been placed in a state of calamity under Resolution 2020-10-768 issued by the special session of the provincial board.
The resolution said: “The closure of roads and bridges, the destruction of communities, agriculture, livestock and other infrastructures have seriously affected the lives of people.”
The damaged infrastructure, crops, livestock and properties in Cagayan have yet to be determined, according to the Provincial Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRMO).
PDRRMO officials also confirmed a total of eight deaths, four in the city of Baggao who died from a landslide, one drowned and two were electrocuted in Alcalá and one drowned in the city of Tuguegarao.
The wrath of ‘Ulysses’
It was during the Ulises downpour on Wednesday that caused about 20 rivers to swell and fill the Cagayán River, causing massive floods and landslides in the Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Cagayán provinces.
The Cagayan River, which is also known as the Rio Grande de Cagayan, is the longest river and the largest river by volume of water discharge in the Philippines with a total length of approximately 505 kilometers and a drainage basin covering 27,753 kilometers. squares. It crosses Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela and Cagayán.
Engineer Carlo Ablan, head of the NIA-Mariis Flood Forecasting and Instruments Section, said the Magat River system, whose water was seized in the Magat Dam reservoir, is one of the 20 tributaries of the Cagayan River.
The other tributaries of the Cagayan River that contributed greatly to the Cagayan River flood were the Diduyon, Addalam, Dabubu, Dibuluan, Dumatata, Ganano, Diadi, Disabungan, Ilagan, Bintacan, Tumauini, Pinacanauan de Cabagan, Pinacanauan, Mallig rivers, Sifu, Taotao, Wall, Chico and Dummon.
‘Worst flood’
Mamba said the provincial government deployed rescuers to help 13,000 families or 47,000 residents who were severely affected by the floods caused by Ulysses and the monsoon rains.
Rogelio Sending Jr., provincial information officer for Cagayan, said 20 of the 29 cities and the city of Tuguegarao have been isolated or flooded when villagers went to evacuation centers, higher ground or relatives.
The province has literally been in a sea of flooding, the highest in 40 years, while the Buntun Bridge and Namabbalan are closed to traffic to protect motorists, Sending added.
The level of the Buntun Bridge has dropped to 12.8 meters, lower than the 13.3 meters recorded on Friday night.
Many inhabitants of 156 villages in 24 towns and the city of Tuguegarao were trapped on its roofs, which have become their temporary shelters.
Robredo said the same security team had handled rescue coordination efforts in the city of Marikina and Rizal at the height of the Ulises attack, which had also left residents stranded on the roofs of houses Thursday.
The Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives and the representative of the second district of Albay, José María “Joey” Salceda, asked the LGUs that had not been affected by the recent typhoons to mobilize their funds for unexploded disasters to help devastated provinces like Cagayán and Isabela.
Before Ulysses, typhoons “Quinta” and “Rolly” had also devastated the Bicol region in a span of weeks. Salceda stressed the need to help affected LGUs, as many have spent much of their resources responding to the pandemic.
Salceda pointed out that unaffected LGUs can transfer underutilized local disaster risk reduction management funds to support other LGUs declared in a state of calamity, which is established in Section 21 of the Republic Law 10121 or the Law of Philippine Disaster Management and Reduction.
WITH DARWIN PESCO, DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ AND ARLIE O. CALALO
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