[ad_1]
MANILA – Magat Dam operators warned residents near the Magat River and those residing in northern Luzon of possible flooding on Saturday, as the dam released water to prevent spills.
The Integrated Irrigation System of the Magat River of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA-MARIIS) warned that floods could occur in the municipalities of Gamu and Aurora in Isabela after operators opened 2 of the gates of the dam’s spillway.
The operators added that the water in the dam’s reservoir was still rising at the time this story was published, due to rainwater coming from areas of the basin that recently experienced rainfall.
Earlier this month, an unprecedented flood submerged Cagayan and Isabela.
At 3 p.m., the water level in the dam reservoir was 189.05 meters above sea level, 4 meters below its spill level of 193 meters.
Magat Dam opened its first spillway on Friday, when it released 393 cubic meters per second (cm) of excess water, equivalent to 1,965 cans of water.
Another door was opened at 8 am on Saturday to release 179 cm of water, equivalent to 895 cans of water.
At 3 pm, the dam operators increased the volume of water they released to 952 cm, or the equivalent of 4,760 cans of water.
According to the NIA-MARIIS notice of the dam discharge warning operation posted at 5 am Saturday, the spillway’s radial gate 3 was already open 1 meter wide.
The door opening was increased to 2 meters at 9 am to release the 393 cm of excess water.
The state meteorological office PAGASA, in its 5 p.m. flood monitoring report, included the Cagayan River basin under its flood watch, adding that flooding was possible near the Upper, Middle basin areas. and Bajo Cagayán.
“People who live near low-lying areas, particularly adjacent ones and along the aforementioned rivers, are alerted against possible landslides and flash floods,” said PAGASA.
The Magat River is an important tributary of the Cagayan River.
The governor of Cagayán, Manuel Mamba, has blamed the Cagayán River, the rains from Typhoon Ulises and the water released from the Magat dam by the massive floods that submerged Cagayán, leaving at least 9 dead.
But the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management said the dams would break if they did not release water to prevent them from overflowing.
Because of this, separate resolutions have been filed with the House of Representatives and the Senate seeking investigations into the deadly floods in Luzon. – With reports from Harris Julio, ABS-CBN News
RELATED VIDEO:
Magat Dam, Magat Dam Upgrade, Flood Warning, Magat Dam Water Release Upgrade, Water Release Dam, Cagayan Flood
[ad_2]