‘Amang’ weakens, leaves Camarines Sur towns flooded

Camarines Sur map. INQUIRER FILES

LEGAZPI CITY—Some towns in Camarines Sur were still submerged in floodwaters while more than 12,000 residents remained in evacuation centers on Thursday due to heavy rains dumped by Tropical Depression “Amang,” which weakened into a low-pressure area as it grazed the eastern seaboard of Luzon.

At least 2,711 families or 12,658 people were still in evacuation centers a day after Amang dumped heavy rains in Bicol, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the region reported on Thursday.

In a report, Gremil Alexis Naz, OCD Bicol spokesperson, said that as of Thursday afternoon, 2,570 families (12,066 people) were still in evacuation areas in 12 towns in Camarines Sur, 83 families (392 people) in seven towns in Camarines Norte and 57 families (199 people) in Guinobatan town in Albay.

Naz said most of the families were from communities prone to flooding and landslides.

At least 131 areas in the region were hit by floods and as of Thursday, 105 were still submerged in floodwater, he said.

He said landslides were also reported in a village in Labo, Camarines Norte, and four villages in the towns of Baao, Bula, and Pasacao in Camarines Sur.

In Minalabac town, the main road going to Barangay Borongborongan in neighboring Milaor town was impassable while its alternate route in Bagongbong to Irayang Solong was also submerged in knee-deep floodwater on Thursday morning.

Some villages in Naga City were also flooded, prompting the local government to suspend classes and work in government offices on Thursday.

Roads blocked

In Barangay Laganac in Balatan town, motorists were advised to take precautions after tree branches fell and debris from a minor landslide covered a section of the road on Thursday morning.

The Department of Public Works and Highways Bicol said as of 2 p.m., the Sto. Niño-Palsong-Topas Road in Barangay Sto. Niño, Bula town, was impassable to vehicles after a section collapsed due to a heavy downpour.

Disaster response officials started road clearing operations on Thursday morning after debris from the landslide blocked the Inoyonan-Itagon Road in Barangay Inoyonan, Bula.

The spillway in Barangay Panoypoyan also in Bula was rendered impassable to all types of vehicles since 5 p.m. on Wednesday because of about a meter-high floodwater that rushed from the overflowing Panoypoyan creek, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) said. The spillway in Barangay Lubgan was also impassable.

Sea trips to and from the ports of Masbate, Catanduanes, and Sorsogon resumed but 43 passengers and six cargo trucks were stranded at Pasacao port in Camarines Sur as of 8 a.m. on Thursday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Bicol said.

While classes at all levels in public and private schools resumed on Thursday in most areas of Bicol, those in at least 20 towns in Quezon province remained suspended as Amang was expected to bring heavy rains.

The local government of Panukulan on Polillo Island also suspended work in government offices on Thursday.

On Wednesday, heavy rains triggered floods in Lopez town and at least 100 families from four villages were forced to evacuate, the Quezon DRRMO reported.

On Thursday, the PCG in Quezon suspended sea travel at the ports of Calauag, Lopez, Plaridel, Quezon, Perez, Alabat, Mauban, Gumaca, Atimonan, Real, and Polillo due to the weather disturbance. Trips at the Lucena City pier, however, continued.

Farm damage

The Department of Agriculture (DA), in a report, said agricultural damage stood at P12.34 million as of Thursday, affecting 1,324 farmers, mostly in the rice sector.

Amang hit 1,096.6 hectares of agricultural areas in Camarines Sur and Sorsogon. The volume of production loss was pegged at 663.9 metric tons (MT).

Citing its initial assessment, losses were recorded in rice, high-value crops and livestock. These are subject to validation as the agency is assessing the extent of the damage caused by the storm.

U-Nichols Manalo, officer in charge director for DA’s Field Operations Service, said the weather disturbance mostly hit seedlings planted in rice fields since the wet cropping season was at its early stage.

“The sector can still recover because our production in Bicol remains high. But again, the wet cropping season has just started,” he said in Filipino.

“The planting season officially started last March 16 so it’s almost a month ago. Affected rice farms in Bicol can still recover as farmers can plant again,” he added.

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