Dagupan mulls ‘dam-break’ scenario plan
BETTER safe than sorry.
This is the stance of members of the Dagupan city council and agreed to incorporate a ‘dam-break’ scenario in the city’s emergency evacuation plan despite assurances from San Roque Dam officials that a dam-break will be a “very, very remote possibility”.
Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, chair of the council, and Councilors Jose Netu Tamayo, Karlos Reyna, Alfie Fernandez, Farah Decano, Michael Fernandez and Alfredo Quinto visited the San Roque Dam on Monday after their regular council session.
Fernandez said their dialogue with officials of San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) and National Power Corporation (NPC) was fruitful as the latter gave them the inputs on what preparations can made in the city for a possible worst case scenario.
“We asked them if they have an emergency plan in case of a ‘dam-dam break’ scenario and they shared it with us,” Fernandez said.
SRPC and NPC officials agreed to attend the council session on December 7 as resource persons for the discussion on the city’s emergency plan.
Dagupan has been cited by national agencies for its disaster-preparedness program.
Fernandez said SRPC’s initial advise is to evacuate residents to La Union but at the same time expressed caution that assuming a worst case scenario, Mangaldan and San Fabian towns might already be under several feet of water before evacuation could be started.
Tamayo, meanwhile, will draw up and propose an emergency evacuation plan for a worst-case scenario, which will provide for the holding of regular drills to familiarize residents with the evacuation protocol in case the San Roque Dam breaks. –LM
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