La Mesa Dam. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The spilling volume of La Mesa Dam in Quezon City might not reach its 80.15 meters overflow level, an officer of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Monday.
Pagasa Hydrometeorological Division officer Susan Espinueva said in a radio interview that La Mesa dam management had been opening the floodgates for the past week due to the continuous rains brought about by the prevailing southwest monsoon and enhanced by tropical storm “Maring,” thus preventing the waters to accumulate.
The dam remained on a critical spilling level at 79.70 meters as of 2:40 p.m.
Earlier Monday, the La Mesa dam management advised pre-emptive evacuation to the residents living near the dam, particularly in the Tullahan, Fairview and Commonwealth areas.
Espinueva said Pagasa had been monitoring the four major dams in Luzon since the Maring onslaught. These are the Ipo dam in Bulacan, which, as of latest, is at 100.28 meters with spilling level of 101 meters; Magat Dam in Isabela, currently at 191.42 meters with spilling level of 193 meters; and the Ambuklao and Binga dams in Benguet.
The storage capacity of the dam in Binga is 280 meters. As of posting, its volume is at 257.7 meters.