Floods leave thousands homeless in Ilocos Norte, Cagayan Valley

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) based here reported that a total of 4,273 families or 19,836 individuals from the five towns of Ilocos Norte were evacuated due to floods brought by Tropical Storm "Labuyo."

Nigel Lontoc, RDCC executive director, told The STAR that rescue operations are ongoing in the towns of Solsona, Pagudpud, Piddig, Dingras and Sarrat, where most of the low-lying villages are still submerged in waist-deep water.

Lontoc said 22 barangays in Solsona, seven in Pagudpud and 10 in Piddig are experiencing flood waters above the knee while seven barangays in Dingras and six in Sarrat are under waist-deep floods.

Lontoc said personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard and the 501st Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army in Currimao, Ilocos Norte are leading the rescue operations with assistance from residents and local rescue groups.

He said most of the evacuees were brought to public schools converted temporarily into evacuation centers. Concerned agencies are providing relief goods to the flood victims.

Lontoc also reported that the main road from Ilocos Norte to Cagayan province is not passable to all types of vehicles due to landslides and fallen trees in Balaoi, Pagudpud.

Damage to crops is expected to reach millions particularly on rice, corn, vegetables, livestock, fisheries and other agricultural crops. Lontoc said assessment and evaluation on the damage are still ongoing.

3 deaths in Cagayan Valley

At least 25 towns in Cagayan Valley were identified as flood-prone areas as heavy rains brought by tropical depressions continue to hit the region.

Three major bridges and several roads linking to and from the different municipalities in the region were also damaged, some of which were closed to all types of vehicles as a result of the onslaught of Typhoon "Labuyo."

Three deaths were also recorded in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya as a result of continuous rains. The latest casualty was identified as Nat River, who was swept yesterday by strong river current.

The two earlier casualties were Mohamad Jabber, 12, whose lifeless body was recovered while floating on Ganano River in Echague, Isabela last Monday, and his companion, Nassip Rascal, 14. Rascal’s body, however, has yet to be recovered.

As of yesterday, more than P50 million worth of agricultural crops were also destroyed by the typhoon. Agriculture and local officials, however, feared that damage to agriculture could reach more than a billion pesos.

The biggest damage to agriculture was reported in Isabela, the country’s major-rice producing province, where at least 9,000 hectares of rice and corn lands were flooded, followed by Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.

Under close watch for flooding were the towns of Reina Mercedes, Naguillan, Gamu, Ilagan, Tumauini, Cabagan, Santo Tomas, Santa Maria and San Pablo, all in Isabela province; and Solana, Iguig, Amulung, Camalanuigan Alcala, Gattaran, Lallo and Aparri in Cagayan province.

In Nueva Vizcaya, flood-prone areas include the towns of Solano, Bayombong and Bambang. Tuguegarao City in Cagayan and Cauayan City in Isabela were also identified as prone to flooding.

Engineer Rodolfo Alday, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways, said that two more major bridges linking the towns of Cabagan and Santa Maria as well as the town of Jones, all in Isabela province, were closed to traffic.

The national road linking the province of Quirino and Aurora via the towns of Maddela and Nagtipunan, Quirino were also rendered impassable due to landslides.

Meanwhile, Cagayan Valley police director Chief Superintendent Jefferson Soriano, also the regional disaster coordinating council chairman, said that 15 barangays in the coastal Claveria town in Cagayan were also heavily flooded.

He added that four provincial government-maintained bridges in the towns of Penablanca, Baggao and Tuao in Cagayan were heavily damaged.