‘Paolo’ leaves trail of damage in Luzon
TUGUEGARAO CITY—Typhoon “Paolo” (international name: Matmo) lashed Luzon on Friday, triggering widespread floods, power outages, evacuations and infrastructure damage across northern and central Luzon as it made landfall in Dinapigue, Isabela.
The latest weather disturbance happened while the country has yet to recover from the series of destructive storms that hit most of Luzon and the Visayas last month and while still coping with the deadly magnitude 6.9 earthquake that crippled northern Cebu province on Sept. 30.
“Paolo”—packing sustained winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour and gust of up 201 km/h—when it hit Isabela, slightly weakened as it crossed the mountainous areas in northern Luzon but not before leaving a trail of damage across the Cagayan Valley Region, which is composed of the provinces of Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
In Mariveles, Bataan, rampaging floodwater rose as high as chest deep, or at least 4 feet, with many residents trapped in their houses, as shown in a viral video posted at 10:30 a.m. on Facebook by one of the residents, “MJ Martin,” who was seeking rescue.
In Isabela and Cagayan, strong winds toppled trees and road signages, while thousands of sacks of palay and corn left out to dry were drenched by rain, adding to farmers’ losses.
Farmer Inocencio Bayucan, 50, lamented the sharp drop in farmgate prices due to the inclement weather caused by the recent tropical cyclones.
“Lugi manen (we again suffered losses),” he said, noting palay prices now fetch only P8 to P10 per kilo compared to the P20 average in past cropping seasons.
In Echague town, Isabela, at least 500 families were preemptively evacuated due to rising rivers, while another 500 families in northern Cagayan were moved to higher grounds and evacuation centers.
Dam release
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines reported power interruptions affecting Isabela Electric Cooperative 1 and Ifugao Electric Cooperative at 10:26 a.m. after the Santiago-Alicia 69kv line tripped. Restoration efforts were still ongoing.
In Quirino, heavy rains flooded roads and spillways in Diffun and Aglipay. The Diffun-Santiago road in Purok 6, Barangay Isidro Paredes was declared impassable to light vehicles, while the San Francisco spillway in Aglipay was submerged.
The National Irrigation Administration said Magat Dam, which straddles the boundary between Isabela and Ifugao. began releasing water through six spillway gates starting 1 p.m. on Friday, reaching a cumulative 12-meter-high release by 5 p.m.
Magat Dam’s total water discharge was estimated at 1,761 cubic meters per second, which could raise water levels by half a meter at Tuguegarao’s Buntun Bridge within 20 hours.
In Pampanga, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council raised alert levels from blue to red, requiring round-the-clock operations from local disaster councils. As of 2 p.m. on Friday, at least 60 villages in San Fernando, Sta. Ana, Apalit, Candaba, Macabebe, Minalin, and San Simon were flooded.
Class suspension
In Zambales, classes were suspended in several towns and Olongapo City while government offices in San Narciso town also suspended work starting 3 p.m. on Friday, except for essential services.
In Zambales’ San Marcelino town, a portion of a riprap collapsed beside a house in Sitio Oit, Barangay Sta. Fe, spilling rocks and mud onto the road and blocking passage. Clearing operations are underway.
In Olongapo City, the river level at Kalaklan Bridge rose to 1.6 meters by 3:20 p.m., breaching the warning threshold of 1.5 meters.
The Philippine Coast Guard earlier suspended sea travel across Zambales due to rough seas.
Floodwaters also submerged parts of Barangay Balon-Anito in Mariveles, Bataan, on Friday afternoon, while six other low-lying villages were inundated and rendered impassable to small vehicles.
Earlier that day, a landslide occurred in Zone 6, Barangay Camaya, also in Mariveles, amid heavy rains.
No one was reported injured.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 4 over the southwestern portion of Isabela, the northwestern portion of Quirino, northern portion of Nueva Vizcaya, Mountain Province, Ifugao, the southern portion of Abra, the southern portion of Ilocos Sur and the northern portion of La Union.
Warnings in effect
TCWS No. 3 was hoisted over the northern and central portions of Aurora, the rest of Isabela, the rest of Quirino, the central portion of Nueva Vizcaya, Kalinga, the central portion of Abra, the rest of Benguet, the rest of Ilocos Sur, and the rest of La Union.
TCWS No.2 was raised over the central and southern portions of Cagayan, the rest of Nueva Vizcaya, Apayao, the rest of Abra, the central and southern portions of Ilocos Norte, the northern portion of Nueva Ecija, the northern portion of Tarlac and the northern portion of Zambales.
Batanes, the rest of mainland Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, the rest of Ilocos Norte, the rest of Aurora, the rest of Nueva Ecija, the rest of Tarlac, Bulacan, Pampanga, the rest of Zambales, the northern portion of Quezon, including Polillo Islands, and Camarines Norte remained under TCWS No.1.
According to Pagasa, Paolo’s center of the eye was estimated to be northeast of the vicinity of Mayoyao, Ifugao at 2 p.m on Friday while moving west northwestward at 30 kilometers per hour (kph). It packed maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 200 kph. —WITH REPORTS FROM TONETTE T. OREJAS, GREG REFRACCION AND RESCEL OCAMPO
