WIDESPREAD flooding in Pangasinan following Typhoon Crising (international name: Wipha) and the enhanced southwest monsoon has so far displaced 189,711 families composed of 585,178 individuals across 27 municipalities and three cities, according to a report from the government’s Philippine Information Agency (PIA).

Quoting the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), PIA Pangasinan reported that 1,390 families or 4,636 individuals were moved to different evacuation centers while 2,009 families or 8,014 individuals took shelter in the homes of neighbors or relatives as of 5:00 p.m. on July 23.

The number of affected families and individuals was expected to increase over the weekend after the stronger Typhoon Emong (international name: Co-may) also lashed Pangasinan Thursday night, unleashing strong winds and moderate to heavy rains.

“Our current focus is in Calasiao, where the Marusay River has overflowed and flooded 17 barangays,” Pangasinan PDRRM officer Luchinvar Oro told PIA in an interview last July 23.

Water search and rescue teams from the PDRRMO were deployed to Calasiao to evacuate residents trapped in their homes because of the rampaging flood, spawned by the swelling of the Marusay River, which as of 6:00 p.m. on July 24 reached above the critical level of more than 10 feet.

PDRRMO said the flood affected 134 barangays in 15 towns and cities, and two barangays have reported landslides.

Initial damage to agriculture was estimated at P151.6 million, while livestock losses were placed at almost P1.2 million.

Infrastructure damage, according to PIA, has reached P419 million.

Several roads were still impassable due to flooding as of Friday morning.

Meanwhile, as of Thursday morning, the spill gates of San Roque Dam in San Manuel remained closed as the water level stood at 244 meters above sea level (masl), still far from its spilling level of 280 masl. (Leonardo Micua)

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