FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The water level at the La Mesa Dam had breached spilling level Friday afternoon despite the slight weakening of tropical storm “Mario”(international name Fung-Wong), according to the state weather bureau.
In the latest dam update released by Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) at 5 p.m. Friday, water level at La Mesa Dam reached 80.44 meters, which was beyond the 80.15 m spilling level of the said dam.
The La Mesa Dam does not have a gate which controls the accumulation of water.
Meanwhile, other dams in Luzon have opened their gates Friday as their contents near the spilling level. Ipo and Binga Dams opened two gates each. Ambuklao Dam and Magat Dam both opened one gate as their contents inched to the critical level.
According to the latest weather bulletin released by Pagasa at 6 p.m., “Mario” slightly weakened to 75 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph as it hits the northern tip of Luzon Friday.
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