‘Quiel’ leaves 6 dead in North Luzon

TUGUEGARAO CITY—The entire Cagayan province on Friday was placed under a state of calamity following massive floods and landslides caused by heavy rains as Typhoon “Quiel” (international name: Nakri) pummeled northern Luzon.

At least 4,720 families or 16,383 people in 15 towns were displaced by the floods that reached the roofs in some villages, the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council said.

The affected towns were Aparri, Baggao, Sta. Ana, Sta. Praxedes, Sanchez Mira, Abulug, Allacapan, Ballesteros, Camalaniugan, Claveria, Lasam, Pamplona, Lal-lo, Sta. Teresita and Sto. Niño.

Four people were confirmed dead, three of them trapped in the floods and landslides that hit Claveria and Aparri on Thursday. They were Augusto Jamon, 36; Jeremiah Saring, 14; Eljhay Dallego, 10; and Ariel Agustin Versola, 32.

Jamon, a farmer at Barangay Magdalena in Claveria, was buried in a landslide that hit his house while Saring was electrocuted in a flooded park at Barangay San Antonio in Aparri. Dallego and Versola drowned in rivers in Claveria and Baggao.

Massive flooding submerged at least 109 villages, forcing residents to evacuate to schools and other safe areas. Classes had been suspended in affected towns since Wednesday.

In Apayao province, a provincial board member and a policeman were buried in a landslide at Barangay Dibagat in Kabugao town on Thursday. The rain-induced landslide hit the house where the victims sought refuge.

Killed were Tolentino Mangalao and Police Cpl. Rommel Bunay Gumidam of Calanasan police.—VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.