75 Ilagan b’gays still flooded

ILAGAN, Isabela — While floodwaters have subsided in most parts of the Cagayan Valley, 75 of the 92 barangays of this capital town remained flooded as of yesterday.

Ilagan Mayor Delfinito Albano initially placed the flood damage to infrastructure and agricultural and fishery losses in his municipality at P150 million.

He said more than 3,000 families, mostly in the town’s northern barangays, were still housed in evacuation areas.

In the entire province, damage to infrastructure and losses in agriculture and fisheries were estimated at P600 million, prompting the provincial government to declare a state of calamity the other day.

The other flood-hit towns are Tumauini, Cabagan, San Pablo, Alicia, San Mateo, San Agustin, Jones, Dinapigue, Santo Tomas and Ramon and the cities of Cauayan and Santiago.

In December 2004, Isabela, the country’s major rice and corn-producing province, lost at least P1 billion in agricultural crops also to floods. — Charlie Lagasca