Photo courtesy of Pangasinan PPO
More than 1,700 residents remained in evacuation centers across Pangasinan on Tuesday as persistent flooding continued to affect communities following heavy rains.
The Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office recorded 501 displaced families, or 1,717 people, staying in evacuation facilities as of Tuesday morning.
Evacuees came from Agno, Bani, Burgos, Mabini, Lingayen, Aguilar, Bugallon, Labrador, Binmaley, Mangatarem, Calasiao, Sta. Barbara and Alcala, as well as the cities of Alaminos and Dagupan.
PDRRMO emergency operations center team leader Ron Maegan Equila attributed the persistent flooding to heavy rainfall combined with silt buildup in waterways. A provincial disaster response team was also sent to Mangatarem to assist residents being evacuated.
Flooding remained in 51 barangays across 10 municipalities and one city. Calasiao accounted for 17 affected barangays, followed by Mangatarem with 11 and Lingayen and Bani with six each.
Waterways also remained under close watch. As of 5 a.m., the Marusay River in Calasiao was at spilling level, the Sinocalan River in Sta. Barbara was above critical level and the Pantal River in Dagupan City had reached critical level.
Pangasinan remained under blue alert despite having no active weather disturbance apart from the southwest monsoon, keeping augmentation teams on standby. The provincial government and LGUs, with assistance from the national government, continued distributing relief supplies.
Initial assessments placed agricultural and fisheries losses at Php 262.9 million, livestock damage at Php 1.8 million and infrastructure damage at Php 175 million. Rice, corn and high-value crops accounted for much of the agricultural losses, while damaged infrastructure included provincial roads and road dikes. Officials were still validating the figures.