THE Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), in a special session on September 27 called by Mayor Belen Fernandez, passed a resolution (No. 8428-2025) declaring a state of calamity for the city in view of the widespread flooding caused by Super Typhoon Nando (international name: Bualoi), the enhanced monsoon rains, and aggravated by the daily high tide.

This was the second state of calamity declared by the Dagupan SP this year, the first was on July 23, when Dagupan experienced more than one week of monsoon rains from July 22 to 31, which was enhanced by a series of typhoons.  The declaration was lifted by the SP barely a week before Nando hit and caused rivers to overflow.

Dagupan City Risk Reduction and Management Officer Ronald de Guzman reported that from September 22 to 27, a total of  35,789 families or 145,771 persons from almost all the 31 barangays of Dagupan were affected by the typhoon.

The SP based its declaration on the assessment made by De Guzman.

Of those affected, some  400 families or 1,390 persons were accommodated in 12 evacuation centers opened by the Dagupan City government, where they were provided food and other needs by the City Social Welfare and Development Office headed by Irene Visperas.

Based on the report of barangay captains to the SP, most of the evacuees came from Barangays Malued, Pogo Chico, Pogo Grande, Lasip Grande, Mayombo, Bacayao Norte and Bacayao Sur.

City Agriculture Officer MayAnn Solomon said losses on rice plants in their milking stage that were submerged in water were initially estimated at P8 million, while losses in fisheries were at P790,000 in terms of fish ponds that overflowed and fish cages and pens that were destroyed.

Solomon said that because of the “no fishing policy” put into effect by the city government for five days, fishermen were not able to venture into the sea to fish, jacking up losses in fisheries to P12 million.

Judy Narvaza, market supervisor, told the SP that during the flood, vendors were forced to stop selling. There were 150 ambulant vendors and 557 tenants of various public markets who were affected.

The resolution stated that it was the collapse of the dike in neighboring Barangay San Vicente, Calasiao, including five days of high tide, that aggravated the flood in Dagupan. (Leonardo Micua

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