Storm triggers landslides, floods in Cagayan
BLOCKED ROAD. Eroded soil softened by heavy rains block the national road linking Cagayan to Ilocos Norte after Severe Tropical Storm “Neneng” (international name: Nesat) hit north Luzon on Sunday, Oct. 16. Photo by Sta. Praxedes MDRRMO
TUGUEGARAO CITY – Landslides blocked the national road linking Cagayan to Ilocos Norte while floods also isolated villages in Santa Praxedes town in Cagayan due to heavy rains induced by Severe Tropical Storm Neneng (international name: Nesat) on Sunday, Oct. 16.
Santa Praxedes Mayor Esterlina Aguinaldo, in an online message, said that workers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have started to clear the three landslides along Cadongdongan village and other erosions along San Juan village.
The heavy rains have been pouring without letup since Saturday night, the mayor said.
The floods also forced 337 families or 1,178 people to evacuate in the town, the municipal disaster risk-reduction management office reported.
“The data is even higher as we have the ‘Adopt the Neighborhood’ scheme here wherein relatives and neighbors allow their flooded or affected fellows to stay with them for safety,” Aguinaldo said.
Rice farms were also flooded but data-gathering and assessment are still ongoing, she added.
Neneng made landfall in Calayan Island, Cagayan before dawn Sunday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its 5 a.m. bulletin.
The state weather bureau, in its 8 a.m. bulletin, said Neneng maintained its strength and was moving west- northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour (kph) with maximum sustained winds of 95 kph. near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kph.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 3 was raised over the southern portion of Batanes (Basco, Mahatao, Uyugan, Ivana, Sabtang) and Babuyan Islands while TCWS No. 2 is up over the rest of Batanes, the rest of Cagayan, Apayao, the northern portion of Abra (Tineg, Lacub, Lagayan), and Ilocos Norte.
