Trapped flood victims look to sky for help

ROSALES, Pangasinan - With the floods still far from subsiding, residents of some towns in Pangasinan are looking up at the sky, waiting for divine intervention as well as helicopters to lift them from their rooftops. With roads impassable all around them, that may be their only hope of quick salvation. After the Bayambang dike was breached on Friday, flood waters swept through many homes in Urbiztondo, causing residents to settle on their rooftops. Reports said some 150 people in Barangay Baug remain stranded on the rooftops of their homes. Despite their repeated calls for choppers, none have arrived. Pangasinan authorities said they have no other recourse but to pray for the victims of tropical depression "Pepeng." "Humingi kami ng chopper pero walang dumadating. [Kaya] Idinadaan na lang namin sa prayers (We asked for choppers but none arrived. That is why we are just left to pray for the safety of the victims)," said Urbiztondo mayor Ernesto Balolong on Saturday over ANC. According to Balolong, rescue efforts have been hampered by having only two rubber boats. Worse, rescuers manning these seacraft are exhausted from rescue operations that began Friday. "Marami tayong taong naiwan doon sa riverside. Sa bawat bahay kasi nag-iiwan sila ng isang lalaki [para bantayan]. Hindi namin mapilit (We have a lot of people still by the river side. In every household they leave a man to guard the house. We can't force them)," Balolong said. The situation in Urbiztondo reflects the natural forces arrayed against poorly equipped provincial governments struggling to save lives and property ravaged by the widespread floods in northern Luzon. [See: Churning floods toy with rubber boats, delay rescues] The death toll in northern Luzon has surged to 195, with most victims killed by landslides and floods. [See: 'Pepeng' moves out of RP, rains loom over western Luzon] Weather forecasters on Saturday said Pepeng – which has been hovering over the country for the last 10 days – is expected to be out of the Philippine area of responsibility by Sunday morning. But even as Pepeng moved further away from the country, portions of a number of provinces are still submerged in floodwaters and hundreds of victims remain trapped in their rooftops. In Pangasinan, only a small fraction of the province remained dry after record levels of flooding submerged over 30 towns and cities starting Friday, including Dagupan City and Urbiztondo town. The floods were triggered by the heavy downpour from Pepeng, and further aggravated by the release of water from the San Roque Dam along Agno River. The National Disaster Coordinating Council said the other Pangasinan towns where dikes collapsed due to heavy flooding include Rosales, Bued, Tayug, and San Fabian. [See: No truth to text messages that San Roque dam is collapsing - NDCC] Boots Velasco of the Pangasinan public information office told GMANews.TV over the phone that five villages in Urdaneta City are still buried in six to seven-foot floodwaters. Velasco said many have already been rescued in the city using rubber boats and choppers. Tarlac, Nueva Ecija A radio report said floods have subsided in portions of Nueva Ecija, but 13 towns remain inundated after the Pantabangan Dam earlier released water for the dam’s protection. In Jaen town, floodwaters remain at least six-foot high because of the swollen Pampanga River. In Tarlac province, GMA reporter Dano Tingcungco said villagers were caught off guard when floodwaters suddenly rose, forcing them to climb up to their rooftops, where many remain trapped as of Saturday noon. The provincial government said 17 of the 21 villages in La Paz town remain flooded as of posting time. La Paz Mayor Benito Emmanuel said at least one person has died in the province due to heart attack after floods swept the region. Stranded In Lucao village, Dagupan City , several vehicles were stranded because they could not get further into the heart of the city, where the floods had reached waist-level. Resureccion Aganon, driver of a Fermina Express bus, said early Saturday that he and his 11 remaining passengers from Quezon City have been stranded at Bgy. Lubao since 1 a.m. “Kagabi pa kami nagugutom eh (We’ve gone without food since last night)," he said. The bus left Cubao at 7 p.m. and traveled to Dagupan through Lingayen, Pangasinan via Camiling Road in Tarlac, a passable route. But they were stopped by the floodwaters on the outskirts of the city. Passenger Allan Sirain, 33, said he was worried because he could not reach his family through mobile phone. Meanwhile, 46-year-old fish vendor Nancy Viray of Barangay Lasip in Malasiqui town and her cousins have been stranded in Lucao since 7 p.m. of Friday. “Kukuha kami ng isda sana, paninda naming doon (We were supposed to get fish that we were to sell)," Viray said. She feared that the plastic basins they use to carry their fish products would weigh them down while wading through thick flood. Bonifacio Gadian, another stranded person, came all the way from Hawaii to check up on his relatives in San Manuel town. He has been stuck with his wife in their van since they arrived in Pangisinan Thursday night, and have been sleeping in the van with other relatives who met them at the airport. Rescue The Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) provincial unit in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan has already deployed two choppers to coastal Isabela to airlift relief goods to flood-affected communities. A separate team of military men from Cagayan flew aboard a chopper to Mt. Province, bringing along K-9 dogs. At least 15 bodies have been dug up from collapsed soil from a landslide in Barangay Kayan East in the province’s Tadian town. The PAF has likewise deployed choppers from the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City to Tarlac province. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Saturday told reporters after an NDCC meeting that the government was already considering sending choppers to Baguio City to bring relief goods. Teodoro said since the three major roads leading to Baguio City – Marcos Highway, Naguilian Road, and Kennon Road – are being cleared of landslides, it would be best to reach the city by air. Damage A total of 2,992 families or 13,763 people are currently staying in 51 evacuation centers in the Ilocos Region. “The figures may continue to go up as reports are still coming from Regions I, II, III, and CAR," the NDCC report said. The NDCC said that national roads going to the affected regions are marked by “cuts due to landslides debris and washed-out debris rendering some areas non-passable." More than 20,200 houses have been damaged, 1,794 of these totally damaged and 18,459 of these partially damaged. Power has been cut in La Union, as well as parts of Ilocos Norte and Pangasinan. “Government offices in (Ilocos) continue to be operational using generator sets," the NDCC said. Communication landlines are also down and people only use mobile phones. Floodwaters have already started to recede in some parts of Ilocos Region and portions of Pangasinan. The NDCC also expects flooding in other parts of central Luzon to subside. Residents watching the skies are praying for the same. - GMANews.TV