Evacuation urged as La Mesa Dam reaches spilling level

MANILA, Philippines - Residents living along the Tullahan River were urged to evacuate on Tuesday noon after the La Mesa Dam reached its spilling level.

Jeric Sevilla, head of the Manila Water's corporation communications, said that as of 11:45 a.m. the dam's water level has reached 80.16 meters or .11 meter above its normal water level of 80.05.

Sevilla said water from the dam has been "spilling towards the Tullahan River."

The water shed supplies postable water to a larger part of Metro Manila.

Water from the La Mesa Dam flows to the Tullahan River that stretches through Quezon City and the cities of Malabon, Valenzuela and Caloocan in the northern part of the metro.

There are more than 1,500 families living along the Tullahan River.

The goverment has been moving to relocate families living along the river and other waterways around Metro Manila, which tend to overflow during the storm season.

In the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration's (PAGASA) 11 a.m. update, other dams in Luzon that have already reached spilling levels were Angat Dam in Bulacan with one gate open at .30 meter, Ambuklao Dam in Benguet with 2 gates opened at 1 meter each, Binga Dam in Benguet with 2 gates open at 1.5 meters each, San Roque Dam in Pangasinan and Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija with one gate open at 2 meters.