CITY OF ILAGAN—Flood warnings were raised on Monday in some parts of Cagayan Valley as Tropical Depression “Carina” dumped moderate to heavy rains in northern Luzon.
Weather forecasters said scattered to widespread moderate to heavy rains would prevail over the provinces of Cagayan, including the Babuyan Islands, Isabela, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga and Ilocos Norte.
Scattered light to moderate rains over Central Luzon and the rest of northern Luzon were also expected.
Wind Signal No. 1 has been hoisted over Batanes, Babuyan Islands and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan. These areas may experience occasional gusts, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
Carina, packing maximum winds of 45 kilometers per hour and gusting up to 55 kph, was forecast to make a landfall over Batanes and the Babuyan Islands.
Forecasters said it would be churning 50 km west of Basco town in Batanes on Tuesday afternoon, and weaken into a low-pressure area on Wednesday.
‘Welcome relief’
Some villagers in Isabela said the rain was a “welcome relief” for their parched farms.
Divina Ariola, a farmer of Barangay Lullutan in the City of Ilagan, said she had been losing income due to the absence of rain, causing the soil in their rice and corn fields to dry up.
Water level at Magat Dam in Ramon town, also in Isabela, was at 170.23 meters above sea level on Monday. It was still 6.59 meters below the dam’s operating level.
“There is no need to release water as we still need to build up water at the reservoir. The dam’s level is still safe and sufficient for irrigation,” said Carlo Ablan, head of the flood forecasting division of the National Irrigation Administration.
As of 4 p.m. on Monday, Carina’s center was spotted at 165 km east of Aparri, Cagayan, and was forecast to continue moving northwestward toward Luzon Strait, passing roughly 100 km off the northeastern tip of Luzon and near the Babuyan Islands and Batanes. INQ