Pangasinan Remains on Blue Alert as Rivers Stay Above Critical Level

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MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – Floodwaters from days of heavy rain have forced 501 families, or 1,717 individuals, into evacuation centers across Pangasinan as of Tuesday morning, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

The displaced families are spread across 15 localities: the towns of Agno, Bani, Burgos, Mabini, Lingayen, Aguilar, Bugallon, Labrador, Binmaley, Mangatarem, Calasiao, Sta. Barbara and Alcala, along with the cities of Alaminos and Dagupan.

“Yesterday, we experienced heavy rains. The situation here in the province of Pangasinan is that our lands and rivers are silted. With the heavy rains, floodwaters in residential areas continue to rise,” said Ron Maegan Equila, team leader of the PDRRMO’s emergency operations center, in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Equila said a PDRRMO team had been deployed to Mangatarem, where an evacuation of residents was still underway as of the time of her interview.

She said the provincial government and local government units, with support from national agencies, are continuing to distribute relief packs to affected families.

51 barangays still flooded

Based on the office’s monitoring, 51 barangays in 10 municipalities and one city, out of 48 localities being watched, remain flooded.

Calasiao accounts for the most affected barangays with 17, followed by Mangatarem with 11. Lingayen and Bani each have six flooded barangays, Equila said.

She added that three rivers remained a particular concern as of 5 a.m. Tuesday: the Marusay River in Calasiao was still at spilling level, the Sinocalan River in Sta. Barbara was above critical level, and the Pantal River in Dagupan City was at critical level.

Blue alert status continues

The province has kept its blue alert status in place since the typhoon and has not downgraded to white alert, even though Pangasinan is no longer experiencing a weather disturbance aside from the southwest monsoon.

“We are in blue alert status since the typhoon and still not decreasing to white alert even though we are not experiencing weather disturbances aside from the southwest monsoon. That means our augmentation teams will remain,” Equila said.

Damage estimates climb past PHP439 million

Separately, the PDRRMO’s consolidated report from local government units placed the partial cost of damage to the agriculture and fishery sectors at PHP262.9 million as of Tuesday, with an additional PHP1.8 million in losses to livestock.

Damage to infrastructure, meanwhile, was estimated at PHP175 million, largely affecting provincial roads and road dikes, according to the report.

Equila said most of the agricultural losses involve rice, corn and high-value commercial crops. She said the Provincial Engineering Office is still consolidating and validating the infrastructure damage figures, meaning the final tally could change.