Cagayan under state of calamity as 11 towns remain flooded; 4 dead, 1 missing

The province of Cagayan was placed under a state of calamity on Friday due to the flooding that has affected many towns in the northwest area.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan made the declaration during a special session on Friday afternoon, according to the Cagayan Provincial Information Office.

Continuous heavy rains from Typhoon Quiel and the tail end of a cold front the past few days has flooded rice fields, residential and commercial areas.

An aerial photo shows the flooded rice fields of the municipality of Sanchez Mira in Cagayan on Thursday, November 7, 2019. Alain Garret De La Cruz Badiang

Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba told Dobol B sa News TV in an interview on Saturday that 11 towns in the northwest part remain flooded.

These are the towns of Sta. Praxedes, Claveria, Sanchez Mira, Pamplona, Abulug, Ballesteros, Allacapan, Aparri, Gonzaga, Sta. Ana ang Baggao.

The towns of Allacapan and Claveria in the northern Luzon province of Cagayan were earlier placed under state of calamity on Thursday due to flooding caused by constant rain.

Four people have died and one remains missing, Michael Conag, information officer of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) - Region 2, said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV aired over GMA News TV.

Mamba said more than 7,000 people are in evacuation centers as of Friday night. These represent 1,791 families in 72 evacuation centers.

"'Yung ating mga kababayan na nasa mga evacuation center ay sapat pa naman po ang ating tulong sa kanila," Conag said.

"Hanggang ngayon nag-uulan pa rin dito at baha pa rin ang 11 towns natin. Although humuhupa, 'pag lumalakas ang ulan, nagkakaroon pa rin ng baha," Mamba said.

"This is already the sixth day since it (rains) started in the northern part of Cagayan," he said.

The Cagayan governor also said this is the first time the province has had this kind of extensive flooding.

"Grabe po, first time nilang nakaranas ng ganitong flooding sa northwestern part of Cagayan," Mamba said.

He added that they were caught by surprise since the rains were heavy even if there was no tropical cyclone wind signal raised.

"Kaya nga po na-surprise din kami dahil wala namang severe weather signal pero dire-diretso ang ulan," Mamba said.

Evacuation, rescue

Search and rescue operations continued on Saturday for the missing person and to evacuate those stranded by the flood.

"Patuloy po ang paglikas natin sa ating mga kababayan dahil patuloy po ang pagtaas ng tubig," Conag said.

"Marami na rin po tayong nailikas. Pinaiigting po natin ang mga monitoring sa mga bahay. May mga kababayan pa tayong naiwan," he added.

"May mga teams po tayo na equipped with boats para po magamit sa paglikas sa ating mga kababayan. Ang ating mga kababayan naman ay cooperative para sila ay mailikas," he added.

"Nakaalerto po tayo ngayon at may mga tulong naman po na mula sa ibang bayan ng Region 2. Sapat naman po ang ating response at naka-preposition naman ang ating mga relief goods sa mga evacuation center," Conag said.

"Hanggang ngayon ang mga rescuers natin doon, hindi pa nakaka-rest at hanggang ngayon ay nagre-rescue pa rin sila," Mamba said.

Mamba said they are aware of climate change but still they were surprised at the extent of the flooding.

"Noon pa, sinasabi namin na kahit walang typhoon, ito ang flood months natin—November and December. Pero ito, kakaiba po ngayon na naranasan dito sa probinsiya especially sa northwestern part. Bago lahat sa amin ito," he added.

"Iba na ang klima, kailangang mag-adjust na tayo," Mamba said.

He added that Cagayan is where the water from the entire Region 2 flow.

"Lahat ng tubig sa buong Region 2, dito po sa amin bumababa," Mamba said.

Damage

The Cagayan governor said they are still assessing the estimated cost of damage to agriculture and infrastructure.

"Ina-assess po namin kasi under water pa rin ang mga rice fields," Mamba said, adding that it is good that farmers had just harvested their crops before the floods occurred.

"I-a-assess namin 'pag humupa na ang baha," he said.

According to Conag, there are still some local and national roads that are still not passable on Saturday due to the floods.

As of Friday night, the following roads and bridges were still flooded, according to the Cagayan Provincial Information Office:

• Road to Sitio Labbeng
• Mapula-pul Barangay Road
• Road going to Sicalao
• Tawi Overflow Bridge
• Daan Ili-Pacac Bridge
• Matucay-silangan, Capagaran Labben-Utan Road (Allacapan)
• Maluyo Bridge
• Bessang Bridge
• Manila North Road and Bangag-Magapit

—KG, GMA News