Cagayan braces for third storm in over a week
RESCUE OPS A team from the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office in Baggao, Cagayan, evacuates residents stranded in their village due to a swollen river near the Taytay-San Isidro Bridge at the height of Typhoon “Neneng” in this photo taken on Oct. 16. —PHOTO COURTESY OF BAGGAO PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
TUGUEGARAO CITY — The weather bureau hoisted Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 over the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan and the island province of Batanes on Thursday due to Tropical Depression Obet, the third weather disturbance to hit the area in over a week.
Residents in Santa Ana and Gonzaga towns in Cagayan were still reeling from severe flooding caused by Tropical Depression Maymay and Typhoon Neneng (international name: Nesat), which hit northern Luzon on Oct. 11 and 12, and Oct. 15 and 16, respectively.
As of Thursday morning, several residents in the low-lying villages of the two towns were again cautioned against flash floods due to Obet and a shear line that were already bringing heavy rains to northern Luzon.
In Cagayan’s Ballesteros town, floodwater reached 1.6 feet (0.5 meter) deep, while the level of the river underneath the Nararagan and Lucban bridges in Abulug town continued to rise due to the incessant rains.
At the Laging Handa briefing on Thursday, Ruelie Rapsing, head of the Cagayan provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (PDRRMO), asked all mayors in the province to order a preemptive evacuation, especially in flood-prone areas.
Rapsing said the PDRRMO had deployed its personnel and rescue equipment ahead of the anticipated impact of Obet.
Sanchez Mira in Cagayan was the latest local government to be placed under a state of calamity following the onslaught of Neneng, which destroyed P27.5-million worth of crops and infrastructure in the town, Mayor Abraham Bagasin said on Thursday.
In a phone interview, Bagasin said the town council approved on Tuesday the recommendation of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management council for the declaration, citing the effects of the Neneng and the previous storms.‘Enormous’ damage
“The damage was enormous—from typhoons Florita and Maymay to Neneng. Now here comes the heavy rain due to the shear line,” he added.
He said affected farmers would need seeds, fertilizers, fingerlings and other farm inputs to recover their losses.
Bagasin said the local government had started distributing 3,000 boxes of food packs it received from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
At least 8,625 families, or 28,266 people, were affected by the onslaught of Neneng in Sanchez Mira. Thirteen houses were also damaged there.
Earlier, the other Cagayan towns of Allacapan, Santa Ana and Santa Praxedes were also placed under a state of calamity due to Neneng and Maymay.
Government data showed that the recent storms caused at least P351-million worth of damage to farms and infrastructure in Cagayan and nearby Ilocos Norte province.
In its 11 a.m. bulletin on Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Obet was located 745 kilometers east of the Batanes provincial capital of Basco. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 55 kph. It was moving westward at a speed of 10 kph.
Pagasa said Obet might traverse extreme northern Luzon or the northern part of mainland northern Luzon between Friday night and Saturday morning, and could reach tropical storm category.
Moderate to heavy with at times intense rains is expected over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, Apayao and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan.
The northern portion of Ilocos Sur, Abra, Kalinga and the rest of mainland Cagayan may experience light to moderate, with at times heavy, rains.
“Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps and in localities with significant antecedent rainfall,” Pagasa said.
—REPORTS FROM VILLAMOR VISAYA JR. AND ABBY BOISER
READ: 171 families flee as Neneng causes floods in Cagayan
