1st District, under State of Calamity
DEVASTATION caused by Typhoon “Emong” prompted the provincial board to pass a resolution on Friday declaring a state of calamity in the first district of the province.
The state of calamity proclamation will give the affected areas access to the calamity fund. Aside from Bolinao, Anda and Alaminos City, which were hardest hit by the typhoon, other towns in the 1st district include Bani, Dasol, Burgos, Agno, Mabini, Infanta, and Sual.
Gov. Amado Espino Jr., who visited the affected areas late evening of Thursday requested the board to immediately convene upon seeing the extent of the damage.
Espino and his team later found themselves stranded on the road for several hours after they were cut off by fallen trees and other debris.
First District Board Member Danilo Dizon said his district was “worse than a “war-torn area”, adding, “Compared to Cosme, the extent of damage caused by ‘Emong’ was worse.”
Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza echoed the same in an interview over Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan. “There were more houses damaged this time than when super Typhoon Cosme hit Pangasinan May last year,” he said.
Former Bolinao Mayor Jesus Celeste, whose brother is the incumbent mayor, said their town was a total mess, with about 80 percent of houses heavily damaged.
Anda Mayor Nestor Pulido, meanwhile, said it was the worst typhoon that he ever experienced in his town.#
JOINT EFFORT
As of Friday afternoon, clearing operations on highways leading to western Pangasinan were still being conducted after these were rendered impassable by the fury of Typhoon ‘Emong’.
Several engineering districts of the Department of Public Works were mobilized by Espino to help clear highways that were blocked by trees downed by the typhoon.
Dagupan City, which was spared from the typhoon, also immediately dispatched an engineering crew and two heavy equipments to western Pangasinan.
Ryan Ravanzo, Dagupan City information officer, said in addition to the engineering crew and equipment, Dagupan also deployed its Emergency Operation Center ambulance, loaded with medicines and modern diagnostic equipment, to Bolinao.
Another vehicle followed shortly carrying food items for those displaced by the typhoon.
Meanwhile, Police Provincial Director Percival Barba deployed policemen from different towns of Pangasinan were pulled out for temporary duty in western Pangasinan to help in the clearing operations.—LM
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