GMA orders more aid for flood victims in Cagayan Valley

President Arroyo has ordered additional assistance for the victims of the massive flooding in Cagayan Valley that has so far left five people, including a one-year-old boy, dead.

Deputy Presidential Spokes­man Anthony Golez said yesterday Mrs. Arroyo issued the directive from Lima, Peru where she is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

He said the flash floods have affected 22,575 families in 218 villages in 18 towns in Cagayan and Isabela, based on reports of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). Five evacuation centers have been put up for the displaced families.

The fatalities hailed from Claveria, Tuguegarao, Tuao and Gonzaga, all in Cagayan, and San Mariano in Isabela.

Local agriculture officials have initially placed damage to palay and corn crops at P150 million.

Authorities said a number of families in northern villages have been trapped as incessant rains caused rivers to swell.

Tuguegarao, Cagayan’s capital city, has been placed under a state of calamity, as 39 of its 49 barangays have been flooded. 

“The NDCC and the regional offices of various agencies have been coordinating in immediately helping those affected through relief and rehabilitation assistance,” Golez said.

Golez said the NDCC has released 800 sacks of rice to the affected communities in the two provinces, on top of the relief extended by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

In Zamboanga del Sur, incessant rains triggered flash floods in the towns of Dumingag, Mahayag, Ramon Magsaysay and Tambulig, with crop losses and damage to property estimated at nearly P17 million. – Paolo Romero, Charlie Lagasca, James Mananghaya and Roel Pareño