Local authorities in Cagayan Valley insist that sufficient warnings were issued, but the sheer volume of water that stormed onto Cagayan was overwhelming even with preparations.
In the wake of Ulysses, the province of Cagayan experienced worst flooding in over 4 decades, its governor said Saturday, November 14.
“Nakapaghanda po kami (We were able to prepare), no question about that. We anticipated this, we had preemptive evacuation, we had forced evacuation. We anticipated this but we did not anticipate how enormous ‘yung tubig na darating (the water that was coming),” said Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba in a press briefing.
He cited how residents also experienced flooding last year, but this time the water level was worse. He said the last time such level of flooding was seen in the city was recorded in 1975.
“Ngayon lang naman naulit ito (It happened again just now). That’s why many were surprised, but really we prepared for this but this is worse than we prepared for,” Mamba said.
Multiple factors contributed to the massive flooding, according to the governor. He said water from nearby provinces- Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Kalinga and Isabela- had rushed down Cagayan in Ulysses’ wake, while soil in the province was already “saturated” because of continuous rains.
The water releases from the Magat Dam has also exacerbated the intensity of the flooding. But, again, there were sufficient warnings, as this is usual protocol, he said.
