With non-stop rain, Cagayan River threatens valley residents

SANTIAGO CITY, Isabela – Heavy rains pounding northern Luzon for two straight days have caused the Cagayan River to swell to a near-critical level, threatening residents living along the banks, police said Thursday morning. Cagayan provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Mao Aplasca said Cagayan River’s water level was earlier recorded at 10.4 meters. Its critical level is 11 meters. Aplasca said 31 families from the villages of Centro 1, 4, 9, 10 and 11 in Tuguegarao City and 208 people from Zones 1 and 2 of Baggao town’s San Jose village have already been evacuated to safer grounds. The continuous downpour has rendered several roads and bridges impassable to all types of vehicles as authorities closed the Tawi and Cabasan Bridges in Peñablanca and Capatan in Tuguegarao City. In Baggao, travelers are barred from taking Abusag and Baggunot Bridges. The bridges of Itawes in Tuao and Maguiling in Piat have likewise been closed to traffic along with the bridges in Mauanan, Rizal and sitio Villa Salud in Gadu village, Solana. Macapagal Avenue in Tuguegarao, Baggao’s Bitag Grande road and Lanna road in Enrile were reported to be underwater. Aplasca said rescue teams from the provincial and regional police force are on standby for further rescue efforts. Colonel Loreto Magundayao, commanding officer of the Civil Military Operations Battalion of the Army’s 5th Infantry in Gamu, Isabela confirmed to GMANews.TV that highly trained army personnel have been deployed to critical areas in Cagayan. “My men are now in the area. In fact as of this moment, they have already reported that they are on board our rubber boats and are evacuating people affected by the torrent," he said.— LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV