Flooding in North Luzon is 'turning from bad to worse'

(Update 5 - 3:34 a.m.) LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - Up to 30 of Pangasinan province’s 48 towns and cities are now flooded and 30,000 people have been evacuated due to continuous rains and near-overflowing dams brought by Typhoon “Pepeng," Governor Amado Espino said early Friday morning. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said floods were also reported in Dingras, Nueva Era and Paoay towns in Ilocos Norte; Bangar and Luna in La Union; and at least 10 cities and towns in Nueva Ecija. Among those areas in Pangasinan so far affected by floods are Asingan, Balungao, Basista, Bautista, Bayambang, Binalonan, Sta. Barbara, Dagupan City, Mangaldan, Natividad, Rosales, San Fabian, San Jacinto, San Manuel, San Quintin, Sta. Maria, Manaoag, Mapandan, Pozorrubio, Sison, Tayug, Umingan, and Villasis. In an interview over radio dzBB, Gov. Espino said rescue operations have already been launched in some of these areas. Aside from the nonstop downpour, floods in the province have been aggravated by the opening of six San Roque Dam floodgates to release water and thus prevent the reservoir water from breaching its walls and threatening a catastrophic collapse. As of 2 a.m. Friday, PAGASA's Dam Status webpage announced that all of San Roque dam's six gates were open at a combined 27 meters height and pouring water into downstream Agno river at the rate of 5,353 cubic meters per second. Earlier Thursday night, Pangasinan public information officer Butch Velasco told radio dzBB in an interview that San Roque Dam was releasing an “unprecedented" amount of water of 6,000 cubic meters per second from 3000 cubic meters per second at 7 p.m. ‘It’s really unprecedented this kind of volume of water. Ngayon lang nangyayari sa history ng Pangasinan (It's happening only now, in Pangasinan's history)," he said. A still earlier report from the Pangasinan governor's office put the San Roque water-release figure at 3,150 cubic meters of water per second. Other dams that have been releasing water in the last few days include Angat, Pantabangan, Ambuklao, Magat, and Binga dams. (For GMANews.TV's Pepeng interactive disaster map, with locations of dams, recent road conditions, and vulnerable areas, click here. ) Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said in a radio interview with dzBB that he was informed by Commodore Jose Luis Alano, head of the Naval Forces in Northern Luzon, that the flood situation in northern Luzon has begun “turning from bad to worse."
"That's why (Alano) is asking for reinforcement already para madagdagan ang tropa ng Navy na magreresponde sa lugar na yan (so we can add to the Navy troops in that area)," said Arevalo. Most flooded As of Thursday night, Pangasinan has become by far the most flood-devastated northern Luzon province. Pangasinan provincial administrator Rafael Baraan said the flooded municipalities and the cities in the province are made up of 225 villages. The most flooded area in the province so far was San Fabian town, according to provincial spokesman Butch Velasco. Around 4,000 people have already been evacuated from the town, where flood water has reached rooftops, Velasco said as he appealed to the national government and non-government organizations to send in rubber boats for rescue and evacuation. He said the local government’s equipment is not enough. As part of rescue operations, Velasco said the local government has already deployed 10 dump trucks to fetch residents in affected areas. Elements of the Army, Coast Guard, and Red Cross have been likewise deployed to assist in the operations. Worst cyclone Pangasinan governor Amado Espino Jr. said Pepeng is the worst cyclone he has seen under his administration. "I think this one will be bringing more damage to Pangasinan," he said as he compared Pepeng to other strong cyclones that hit the province such as "Cosme" (2008) and "Emong" (early 2009). Espino said he has been pushing for preventive evacuation in areas near the Agno River since Sunday when it was announced that Pepeng might return to the country. He however assured that rescue operations are ongoing and that relief supplies are sufficient. Police Superintendent Wilson Lopez, chief of operations and plans division of the provincial police, said they are still confirming reports of casualties in the affected towns and cities. Widening disruption The extensive floods triggered by Pepeng have caused a widening swath of destruction in Luzon, which has yet to recover from the disastrous Sept. 26 floods. In Alcala, Pangasinan, residents are beginning to complain of food shortage in local markets due to the damage caused by Pepeng to farmlands. Continuous rainfall has caused knee-deep to six-feet-deep floods in the province. A long section of MacArthur Highway in San Manuel, Tarlac has become impassable to all kinds of vehicles due to rising floods. The highway is a key artery linking Metro Manila and Central Luzon to the Ilocos and Cordillera regions. In Tarlac City in Tarlac province, non-stop rains and the release of water from the San Roque dam have also flooded farmlands and minor thoroughfares. In San Jose City in Nueva Ecija, stranded vehicles continue to queue along Maharlika Highway, the road linking the province to Cagayan Valley. City officials have already ordered the opening of five evacuation centers for affected residents. The continuous rainfall has also caused landslides in Baguio City that have rendered Kennon and Naguilian Roads impassable, according to Olive Luces of the Office of Civil Defense in Baguio City. Other flooded Luzon areas Several villages from other provinces in northern and even central Luzon were flooded too, according to NDCC in its 6 p.m. report. NDCC said floods also affected at least seven villages in Ilocos Norte and six in La Union. Likewise flooded were Baliwag and Calumpit towns in Bulacan; Sta. Ana town in Pampanga; and Botolan town in Zambales. Evacuation centers in the provinces of Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Baguio City and Benguet were reopened Wednesday night. Preemptive evacuation is ongoing in Nueva Ecija's Gapan and Cabanatuan cities; Licab, Zaragoza, Rizal, Quezon, Aliaga and San Isidro towns, all of which are near the Pantabangan Dam. Also reported as heavily flooded were Sto. Domingo and Cuyapo towns. The Pantabangan Dam is only .49 meters short of reaching its spilling level, Gov. Aurelio Umali said in a radio interview. He said 98 out of 849 villages in the province are already submerged in floodwaters. In Pampanga, evacuation is ongoing in towns near the Pampanga River Basin, including Candaba, Arayat, San Simon, Apalit and Santo Tomas, the NDCC report said.– with Aie Balagtas See and Andreo Calonzo, GMANews.TV