Magat dam execs release water as ‘Pedring’ approaches Isabela

ILAGAN, Isabela—-Officials running the Magat Dam in Ramon town here on Monday ordered the release of water through two spillway gates in anticipation of heavy rains accompanying Typhoon “Pedring” (international name: Nesat).

Saturnino Tenedor, dam instrumentation chief, said the reservoir’s water level reached 191.8 meters above sea level (masl) on Monday morning, 1.2 masl from its spilling level. The gates were opened at a height of three meters.

In Manila, Philippine Astronomical, Geophyisical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) hydrologist, Edgar Dela Cruz, has issued a flood warning along the Magat River as Magat dam opened two additional gates, with five already open since 2:00pm, to release water. Magat dam’s water level is 2.56 meters below spilling level as of 4:00pm.

Ambuklao dam has just opened two gates Monday afternoon while Binga dam has three gates open already. Their water levels are 0.31 and 0.33 meters below spilling level respectively.

Meanwhile, Governor Faustino Dy III said provincial officials and disaster response teams on Monday started preparing rubber boats, life jackets, chainsaws, battery-operated lights and ropes, evacuations centers and relief goods for rescue operations and evacuation.

Dy said they are monitoring the situation in the coastal towns of Dinapigue, Divilacan, Palanan and Maconacon, where Pedring is expected to enter.

Major roads in Isabela remained open on Monday but rising water levels in the province’s rivers have threatened to overflow bridges in Cauayan City and the towns of Santo Tomas, Cabagan and Santa Maria, reports from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.

In Aurora, provincial administrator Alex Ocampo said the province started experiencing rains and strong winds on Monday as Pedring approaches Luzon’s eastern coastline.

He said provincial officials had not ordered residents in coastal areas at 4:30 p.m. Monday because rains were moderate.

Aurora’s disaster response teams in all towns were put on standby starting Sunday night. Food and medicines were also prepared.

In the Cordillera, the DPWH has sent out advance teams to monitor landslide-prone roads in Benguet, where farms supplying Metro Manila’s salad vegetables are located.

In Baguio City, government road crews contracted by the government have rushed the repavement of national roads which were delayed by the previous storm.

City engineers were also assessing the condition of Baguio’s decommissioned dump, a portion of which collapsed at the height of Typhoon “Mina” on August 27, killing six people. (Reports from Villamor Visaya Jr. and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon, Matikas Santos, Inquirer.net)

Originally posted at 06:46 pm | Monday, September 26, 2011