A resident of Alcala, Cagayan uses a wooden boat to navigate a flooded barangay after Typhoon Ulysses struck the province. (Photo courtesy of Amihan Cagayan)
MANILA, Philippines — Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba on Saturday said that nine persons perished after massive floods and Typhoon Ulysses hit the province earlier this week.
During the Laging Handa press briefing, Mamba said that among the fatalities were three teenagers and their 60-year-old grandmother.
Four others, including a rescuer, were electrocuted, while a 42-year-old male died due to drowning, Mamba said.
Floodwaters inundate a school building in Baggao, Cagayan (Photo courtesy of Anakpawis Cagayan)
No typhoon signal, raging floodwaters
“Gusto ko lang po sabihin na wala po kaming typhoon signal dito no since the start of [Typhoon] Ulysses, pero yung tubig na binuhos niya dyan sa Isabela, ganun din po sa Quirino, dyan po sa [Nueva Vizcaya], Kalinga and sa Ifugao, ito po yung dumadating na tubig sa amin ngayon,” Mamba said.
(No typhoon signal was raised in Cagayan due to Typhoon Ulysses, but the water dumped by the typhoon in Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Kalinga and Ifugao flowed to our province.)
“There was also prior super saturation ng aming (our) soil dito dahil sa sunod-sunod na pagbaha (because of the consecutive floods) especially in the northern towns of Cagayan,” he added.
Mamba said the this is the worst case of flooding in Cagayan since 1975.
Asked if the provincial government was prepared for Ulysses, he replied: “Nakapaghanda po kami (We were able to prepare), no question about that. We anticipated po ito kasi nasanay po kami sa ganito. Nagkaroon kami ng preemptive evacuation, nagkaroon kami ng forced evacuation.”
(We anticipated this because we are used to this. We had pre-emptive evacuations, we conducted forced evacuations.)
“We anticipated this but we did not anticipate how enormous ‘yung tubig na darating (the enormous volume of water).”
#CagayanNeedsHelp trended on social media after netizens cried for help as floodwaters displaced numerous residents of Cagayan province and other parts of Cagayan Valley region.