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Vice President Leni Robredo. OVP file photo
MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo is currently coordinating with various teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the possible rescue of Cagayan Valley residents trapped due to flooding, but it appears that air rescue may not be possible. hereinafter. .
Robredo on early Saturday morning provided updates on his Twitter account about developments in the Cagayan Valley, prompting residents to ask for help because they fear for their lives when floods brought by Typhoon Ulises engulfed homes in Isabela provinces. and Cagayan.
He was assured that Navy rescue teams and police teams are on their way to the affected areas.
“Asking if it is possible to deploy air assets now. Waiting for feedback. He was assured that marine rescue teams are on their way, ”Robredo said in a tweet.
“While waiting for the increase to reach Tuguegarao, our team was able to contact PNP Tuguegarao. We submit all compiled requests and calls for help. Limited assets now but priority will be given to MEDEVAC, ”he added.
However, Robredo also received news from retired military officials that the deployment of air assets may not be possible due to poor visibility, as most areas are still without power.
Despite this, Robredo assured residents and the public that AFP is doing everything possible to rescue the people, most of whom are staying on the roofs of their houses.
“I received news from a retired military officer that air rescue at night is very dangerous and that most civilian helicopters and their pilots are not capable of flying at night,” he said.
“AFP pursues all possible means to carry out rescue operations. It will keep you updated, ”he said.
Before this, Robredo was informed that air operators are planning how to carry out the air rescue. On the ground, it appeared that amphibious vehicles were also having difficulty accessing cities due to the current of water moving against them.
Earlier, the vice president assured people in the Cagayan Valley that they are working to help the region, noting that she has been monitoring the situation. The tweets flooded the Twitter page of Robredo, who turned his social media accounts into a call-to-rescue mechanism where he facilitates the transfer of information from people seeking help and government agencies.
Residents of the province of Isabela Sta. María pueblo sent photos to INQUIRER.net on Friday night to show the terrible condition they are in. In the photos, you can see that the waters were already reaching the second floor of his house, and some were almost reaching the backboards of the basketball courts.
The floods, they said, may be due to the Magat dam being forced to open seven floodgates to release the waters after it reached the level of the spill.
On Twitter, the #CagayanNeedsHelp hashtag was also trending with various stories and photos about the devastation that the opening of Ulysses and the Magat Dam brought to the area.
Reports of flooding in the Cagayan Valley came as flooding in Metro Manila and other areas of Rizal began to recede. This may be due to the late release of the waters from Magat Dam.
Data from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) showed that the Magat dam, located on the Magat River, which is a major tributary of the Cagayan River, has an outflow of 5,073 centimeters.
Despite the large amounts of water released by Magat, the water level of the dam only receded to 192.7 meters, which is only 0.30 meters from the normal high level of the dam.
JPV
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