‘Mario’ unleashes fury up north as it moves away from PH

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—Tropical Storm Mario whipped up strong winds and dumped heavy rains on provinces in northern Luzon from Friday night through Saturday, triggering flashfloods in parts of the Ilocos region but leaving no casualties in the region as of Saturday afternoon.

Landslides blocked roads in the Cordillera while uprooted trees cut off power lines that led to outages in parts of northern Luzon, including a wide section of Baguio City.

Floods forced 1,381 families in 36 low-lying villages in Bulacan, Tarlac, Bataan and Zambales provinces to seek shelter in evacuation centers, the Central Luzon regional disaster risk reduction and management council said.

Unrelenting rains on Friday night submerged sections of the Manila North Road in four Ilocos provinces, making them impassable to all types of vehicles on Saturday morning.

On Saturday afternoon, the Ilocos Norte provincial board placed the province under a state of calamity, noting an early estimate placing damage to crops and infrastructure at P21.9 million. Earlier, the municipal councils of Pinili and Pagudpud declared their respective towns under a state of calamity.

As of Saturday morning, 17 villages in the Bulacan towns of Meycauayan, Marilao and Bocaue were under 2 to 6 feet of water. All are on the Manila Bay coast.

In Pampanga province, 12 villages in Candaba, Macabebe and San Luis —- all on the banks of the Pampanga River -— were flooded up to 5 feet.

In Minalin town, the newly dredged Dalang Pari tributary of the Pasig-Potrero River overflowed to the San Francisco River which burst its banks in Sitio Maralumdum. Residents rushed sandbagging to protect their farms and fishponds.

The rainfall recorded in several stations along the Pampanga River, which traverses Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Bulacan, averaged 63 millimeters in the past 24 hours, the Pampanga River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning Center said in a flood bulletin on Saturday.

The center advised that flooding was possible in Jaen, San Isidro and Cabiao in Nueva Ecija.

Flooding was going to persist in Candaba as well as in nearby San Miguel and San Ildefonso towns in Bulacan as the river’s level there went past the 5-meter critical level.

The center said flooding was expected in Arayat and San Simon in Pampanga as the river’s level there rose to 7.94 meters.

It warned that flooding was possible in Sasmuan, Lubao and Guagua towns in Pampanga while flooding was expected to occur in Apalit, Macabebe and Masantol in Pampanga and Calumpit and Hagonoy in Bulacan.

Accredited stores of the National Food Authority in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga sold only a kilogram of rice per buyer on Saturday. Traders said the limit came about because of the low supply given them by the NFA.

The Pampanga flood forecasting center recorded a slow increase of water in the Angat River, warning that flooding could occur in Angat, Norzagaray, Bustos, Baliwag, Pulilan, Plaridel and Calumpit towns in Bulacan.

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado berated the operators of two dams in the area for releasing water that flooded low-lying villages in Bustos, Baliwag and Calumpit.

The rains prompted operators of the Ipo Dam in Bulacan, which takes in water from Angat Dam, to discharge water at the rate of 438.5 cubic meters per second on Friday afternoon.

The regional disaster council said the Angat reservoir water rose near its spilling level of 210 masl.

The Bustos Dam, which is part of the Angat Dam network, reached 17.72 meters and had released water at the rate of 804.025 cms.

Alvarado said a better regulating system for dam water discharges must be put in place.

The water level at Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija was still below its spilling level.

A total of 12 roads and bridges, including some parts of the MacArthur Highway in Bulacan, were not passable to light vehicles.

Rains continued to pound the Ilocos region on Saturday.

At 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, flash floods forced five families in low-lying sitio Narvaan, Catagtaguen in Banna town, Ilocos Norte province, to evacuate to a safer ground, said Banna Mayor Carlito Abadilla.

In Surong Valley in the upland town of Vintar, reports reaching the Ilocos Norte provincial disaster risk reduction and management council said residents were already isolated as a river overflowed and submerged the Parparoroc Road leading to Pallas Valley.

The roof of a church was reported destroyed in the village of Nagbacalan in Paoay town.

At least 20 families were also evacuated due to flooding in Gabut Sur in Badoc.

In Bangui town, at least eight houses were destroyed by strong winds while 18 others were damaged.

The Department of Public Works and Highways in the Ilocos region reported that the junction of Narvacan town in Ilocos Sur province was not passable to all types of vehicle. Some portions of Sta. Maria town and Candon City were also under water and not passable to light vehicles.

In Ilocos Norte, reports from the Philippine Information Agency said flood waters submerged bridges in Barangay Pansian in Pagudpud town and in Adams town. Power lines were also down in all towns.

In La Union province, a section of Luna and Bangar towns went under water and were not passable to small type of vehicles.

Esperanza Tinaza, DPWH regional information officer, said only trucks could pass through a section of the Ribsuan Bridge on the Bauang to Baguio City road.

The San Fernando City police reported that more than 30 families in the villages of Cabaroan, Biday, Lingsat and San Agustin moved to evacuation centers at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday due to rising flood waters.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines reported several lines tripped early Saturday morning, causing power outages in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan.

Residents of western Pangasinan towns groped in the dark on Saturday night after power shut down at about 5 p.m. in 10 towns and Alaminos City.

Lilibeth Gaydowen, spokesperson of the NGCP in northern Luzon, said the outage began at about 4:54 p.m. when the Labrador-Bani-Bolinao line tripped.

In Pangasinan province, the rains that Mario dumped on Saturday worsened the flooding in the province’s low lying towns, which were still reeling from the flood waters left by Typhoon “Luis.”

The provincial disaster council said that 28 villages in the towns of Calasiao, Labrador and Binmaley were flooded on Friday night.

Another 15 villages in Dagupan City were also under water, said Supt. Christopher Abrahano, the city’s police chief.

“The flood waters were already receding on Saturday morning, but the flooding worsened because of the rains from Mario,” said Ronald de Guzman, head of the the city’s disaster council.

The provincial disaster council said 144 families from seven villages of Calasiao town were evacuated, while 69 families from Dagupan City were moved to the city’s astrodome.

De Guzman said the authorities were still watching the flooding situation in Dagupan City, noting that run-off waters from the highlands in eastern Pangasinan towns may not have arrived yet.

Dagupan, he said, is the province’s catch basin and water from the different towns of the province passes through the city on its way to the Lingayen Gulf.

The Ambuklao and Binga dams located upstream of the Agno River in Benguet province, have been spilling water since Saturday.

At 6 a.m. Saturday, the water level at Ambuklao Dam was only 49 centimeters below its maximum level, prompting dam operators to open four of its spillway gates.

The water level at the Binga Dam, on the other hand, was only 9 centimeters below its maximum level. At 6 a.m. Saturday, six of its spillway gates were opened.

The water released from Binga and Ambuklao goes to the San Roque Dam in San Manuel town downstream.

At 6 a.m. Saturday, the water level at the San Roque Dam was 8.98 meters below its normal level.

In Baguio City, 119 families (453 people) in upland communities in the Cordillera provinces of Apayao, Mountain Province and Benguet and the summer capital were evacuated to schools, barangay halls, churches and neighbors willing to receive them on Friday night, the Cordillera regional disaster council said.

Many of these families were in areas prone to landslides or flooding.

Senior Supt. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., Benguet police director, said Kennon Road was closed on Friday afternoon due to fallen trees that blocked the road along Sitios Kalumbitin and Gusaran, in Barangay Camp 1 in Tuba town, Benguet province.

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan said the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road had been closed. Fallen power lines also blocked Halsema Highway in Buguias town. But government personnel had cleared the highway, which is the main road to Baguio for vegetable trucks in the area.

Reports from Leilanie Adriano, Cristina Arzadon, Gabriel Cardinoza and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Tonette Orejas, Carmela Reyes-Estrope and Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon