Isabela loses P100 M in crops to floods

ILAGAN, Isabela — This major rice- and corn-producing province lost at least P100 million worth of agricultural crops to flash floods triggered by days of continuous rains.

Villages lying along the banks of the Magat and Pinacauan rivers, two of the region’s major tributaries, in at least 15 municipalities, were flooded.

Floodwaters have breached several bridges, leaving the towns of Jones, San Mariano, Dinapigue and San Agustin and parts of Angadanan isolated as rains continued to pour.

Among the towns that suffered heavy agricultural losses were San Mateo, Ramon, Alicia, Angadanan, San Isidro, Roxas, San Manuel, Ilagan, and Cordon, and the so-called Mallig Plains, which produces the bulk of the province’s annual rice production.

The provincial disaster and coordinating council advised residents living near riverbanks and in low-lying areas to seek temporary refuge in safer places.

The provincial government and various agencies, including the Red Cross, the departments of social welfare and development and health, the provincial police and the Army’s 5th Infantry Division, are joining hands in relief operations in flood-stricken areas.

In Cagayan, at least 15 barangays in Tuguegarao City were also flooded.

Floodwaters also swept through low-lying portions of Solana, Piat, Iguig, Alcala and five other municipalities as the Cagayan River overflowed due to the incessant rains.