Cagayan residents yet to be rescued, sleep on roofs due to Ulysses floods

Residents of Solana, Cagayan who have yet to be rescued amid the floods brought by Typhoon Ulysses have been sleeping on their roofs.

The Cagayan Provincial Information Office said that it has informed the rescuers in Barangay Iraga of the situation.

It added that rescue operations were ongoing in various areas in Solana.

Ulysses exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Friday morning.

At present, the military has recorded 39 fatalities due to the typhoon while 40 individuals were recorded to be injured and 22 were missing.

Meanwhile, P4.25 billion worth of government infrastructure assets has been damaged by Ulysses while the damage and losses sustained by the agriculture sector have increased to almost P1 billion.

According to Emil Sumangil’s report on “Saksi,” four residents of Cagayan died after they were buried in landslides.

“Ngayon, unprecedented po kasi ‘yung death ngayon… meron na pong amin. Pero missing ‘yung isa, confirmed na ‘yung lima. Apat ‘yung namatay sa landslides, dalawa ‘yung drowning. ‘Yung isa po sa drowning ay missing pa,” Governor Manuel Mamba earlier said.

Twenty-four out of 29 areas in Cagayan were flooded due to the onslaught of the typhoon. Meanwhile, data from the local government showed that more than 26,000 families were affected.

Mamba said that the water released from Magat Dam’s was one of the reasons the flooding situation worsened in the province.

“Nag re-release po ‘yung Magat Dam. Magat Dam kasi is one of those causing ‘yung kwan, worsening nung aming kwan. Nag re-release din po sila ngayon. Lahat po ‘yan papunta sa amin,” the governor said.

As of 11 p.m. on Friday, the water level of Magat Dam has decreased to 192.32 meters, a lower figure from its spilling level of 193 meters.

“Kailangan natin pangalaagaan ‘yung integridad ng structure natin dito sa Magat Dam. Hindi po kayang i-accomodate lahat ng tubig,” PAGASA hydrologist Richard Orendain said.

PAGASA proposed the creation of artificial embankments to prevent flooding communities.

“Mag sacrifice tayo ng isang land na doon lang muna natin ilagay and then pagkatapos ng pag-ulan, pagbaha, i-release ulit natin,” Orendain added.-Joahna Lei Casilao/NB, GMA News