WORSE THAN “COSME”

LINGAYEN—Several towns were isolated and left without electricity as Western Pangasinan absorbed the brunt of Typhoon “Emong” that lashed out Thursday night.

A report from the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council said hardest hit were Bolinao, Anda, Agno Burgos and Bani as the typhoon exited to the Lingayen Gulf towards La Union and Benguet.

As of Friday, these and the towns of Mabini, Dasol and Infanta still could not be reached by land from Alaminos City, the main hub of western Pangasinan.

Sixteen deaths and 14 missing were reported so far. Only the lone fatality from Lingayen had so far been identified by the PDCC as of 8:00 a.m.

The victim was Veronica Viray de la Cruz, 82, of Barangay Naguel-guel, who fell while walking along the road while the typhoon was raging at 6:00 p.m. Thursday.

The PDCC estimated 3,892 individuals or 875 families, all from Western Pangasinan, were affected by the typhoon.

About 90 percent of the houses in Bani were totally or partially destroyed totally while 20 percent was also estimated to have been destroyed in Alaminos City.

The entire first district of the province had no electricity yet as of Friday and most communication lines were also cut off, except the Globe mobile network.

Also without electricity as of 10 a.m. Friday was 42 percent of Dagupan City, Calasiao, Sta. Barbara and San Fabian, San Carlos City, Binmaley, and Mapandan.

Governor Amado Espino Jr. personally led the rescue operations for missing persons and in the clearing operations of roads that were blocked by falling trees.

Espino, along with members of the PDCC, rushed to Bolinao 11 p.m. Thursday to look into the situation on the ground when communications from the capitol to the different municipalities bogged down.

The governor and his group were still at Barangay San Jose, Bani Friday morning waiting for the clearing operations along the road leading to Bolinao to be completed.

Meanwhile, Provincial Board Member Alicia Pulido and her husband Mayor Nestor Pulido of Anda sent an appeal to the National Disaster Coordinating Council to send galvanized iron sheets to Western Pangasinan so families who lost their homes can immediately start rebuilding.

The Pulidos also reported heavy losses in Anda’s aquaculture industry with hundreds of fish cages and pens destroyed by the howler.

Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza, spearheading the rescue operations in the city, reported that the typhoon exacted heavy damage in Lucap, the gateway to the Hundred Islands. The roof of the city-owned tourism complex in Lucap was among those blown away.

Although Dagupan City is not under the political jurisdiction of Pangasinan, Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. is sending an engineering team to the devastated areas in support of the PDCC and the provincial government.

Typhoon “Emong” spared Dagupan City and towns in the second, third and fourth districts of Pangasinan, the areas that were heavily devastated by Typhoon “Cosme” on May 17, 2008.—LM

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