BATTERED BY STORM SURGE AND HIGH TIDE

A total of 3,156 families or 6,241 individuals were evacuated to 33 evacuation centers across the city before the onslaught of Super Typhoon “Uwan.”

Most of the evacuees were residents living near coastal areas who either left voluntarily or were forcibly and preemptively evacuated by their barangay officials to escape the three-meter-high storm surge spawned by the super typhoon.

At the time, Pangasinan and Dagupan City were placed under Typhoon Signal No. 4, as weathermen projected the typhoon’s exit between Pangasinan and La Union.

Worsening the effects of the storm surge was a 1.9-meter high tide that began at 1:38 a.m. on November 11, which explained the flooding even in Dagupan’s downtown area.

Barangay Bonuan Gueset accounted for the highest number of evacuees, with 695 families or 1,579 individuals. Of these, Sabangan Elementary School sheltered 370 families (1,136 individuals), North Central Elementary School hosted 199 families (413 individuals), and Gregorio del Pilar Elementary School accommodated 126 families (448 individuals).

Meanwhile, Federico Ceralde Integrated School in Bonuan Binloc took in 630 families or 2,316 individuals.

As precautionary measures, SM Center Dagupan and CityMall opened their multi-level parking areas for free overnight vehicle parking to protect residents’ cars from rising floodwaters.

Although no casualty was reported, Mayor Belen Fernandez warned that Dagupan’s ordeal might not yet be over. Upon arriving from South Korea on Tuesday, November 11, she immediately convened a meeting with Vice Mayor Bryan Kua and members of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) to address the looming threat of possible water releases from San Roque Dam.

Fernandez said that as of 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday (November 12), the San Roque Dam’s water level had reached 278.25 meters above sea level (masl)—just 1.75 meters below the critical 280 masl high-water mark, at which point water might be released downstream.

The mayor expressed concern that while Dagupan is far from the Agno River, it remains vulnerable because the San Carlos River, a tributary of Agno, connects to Basing River in Binmaley, which flows directly into the Carael River and finally the Calmay River in Dagupan City.

According to DOST-PAGASA, as of 8:00 a.m. on November 11, two hydroelectric dams upstream of San Roque—Ambuklao and Binga—had opened six spillway gates each, releasing water through openings between 3.0 and 3.5 meters high, all of which eventually flowed into the San Roque reservoir.

Fernandez attributed the large number of evacuees to the residents’ fear of a repeat of the Yolanda tragedy in Leyte, where many lives were lost to storm surges. (Leonardo Micua)