By Dominic B. dela Cruz &
Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporters
LAOAG CITY—Facing an
unprecedented public storm warning signal (PSWS) no. 5,
Ilocos Norte and its residents went ahead to prepare for supertyphoon Haima
(Lawin), and as a result minimized what could have been heavy damages.
Howling winds with moderate
to heavy rains toppled electric posts, uprooted trees and destroyed some house
roofs here but Ilocanos knew better than to ignore warnings, as almost all
prepared for the strong typhoon.
A day before Haima arrived,
Ilocos Norte governor Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos ordered the suspension
of classes in all levels. At that time, the province was under PSWS 3; Ms.
Marcos then was also in China as part of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s
delegation.
Farmers were also advised to
harvest their rice crops early while the local government helped in hauling and
drying their harvest using combined harvester and modern drying facilities as
one of the machine specifications of at least two rice processing complex here
established in Bacarra and Piddig, Ilocos Norte.
Forced and preemptive
evacuation were also implemented in pre-identified highly vulnerable areas
prone to flashfloods and landslides in the entire Ilocos Norte.
Fishers were also warned not
to go out fishing with the weather bureau’s warning of rough seas.
P42M in damages for Laoag
In the province’s capital, the city government assessed
initial damages at P35 million.
The agriculture office here
reported damages of P8 million for rice and corn crops; P45,187 for other
crops; P37,500 for fisheries; and P150,000 for the breeding station.
For infrastructure damages,
city engineer Roy Tomas pegged the initial damages at P27,900,00 for public
buildings, roads, bridges, flood control projects and school buildings.
The city government undertook
a massive evacuation operation as early as 6 pm of October 19, 2016.
City Disaster and Risk
Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) officer Melvin Manuel said the
preemptive evacuation was in response to the supertyphoon which placed the city
and the province under typhoon signal no. 4 at that time. The typhoon warning
was later raised to an unprecedented signal no. 5 later in the province.
The evacuees were housed in
several public schools, which usually doubles as evacuation center in times of
disaster. The Ilocos Norte National High School compound housed 44 families
from Brgy. 61 (Caaoacan); 9 families from Brgy. 29 at Plaridel Elementary
School; and 37 families from Brgys. 34-A, 34-B and 35 at Cabeza Elementary
School.
Two houses were reported as
totally damaged. The houses are owned by Mario Lagua and Maria dela Cruz, both
of Brgy. Lataag. Other houses were also reported partially damaged.
Laoag mayor Chevylle V.
Fariñas said those whose houses were totally damaged will receive P6,000 each;
partially damaged houses’ owners will get P3,100.
Power outage, phones down, flights cancelled
Electricity in the whole province as cut by 12:3o am of October 20.
The Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative reported that many power posts and
electric lines were either toppled or ripped off. Power in the city’s poblacion
area returned by midday of October 21.
INEC general manager Felino
Agdigos said they are doing their best to return power to the whole province.
Power returned starting October 21.
All means of communications
also went down when the supertyphoon struck. PLDT landlines and internet
connection have become poor prior to the supertyphoon, and were totally out for
days after the disaster. Mobile phones companies also suffered the same fate as
Globe, Smart and Sun could not provide stable signals before, during and after
the supertyphoon.
Days after the supertyphoon,
phone signals—both landline and mobile—have remained unstable.
The lack of stable
communication has also hampered disaster response and reporting as there was no
way to ask for help and to find out the extent of the disaster.
At the Laoag International
Airport (LIA), manager Ronald Estabillo said flights were cancelled from
October 19 to 21. All flights resumed on October 22.
Laoag under State of calamity
As “Lawin” continued to howl and lashed at the city, the
Sangguniang Panlungsod held an emergency session to declare the city under a
state of calamity.
The declaration automatically
releases cash from the city’s calamity fund. It also enforces a prize freeze on
basic commodities in the city.
Batac suffers P167M in damages
In Batac City, mayor Albert D. Chua said they suffered
P167,407,902.14 of damages from agriculture alone.
“Ngem iti pagyamanan tayo ket awan iti biag a nairisay isu a nagasat
tayo numan pay iti dakkel a naapektaran ket iti benneg iti agrikultura [But
we are thankful that there was no casualty even if the effects on our
agriculture was heavy]”, Mr. Chua said.
Initial reports from the
Batac City Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) as of October 21
placed high value commercial crops including rice, yellow corn, white corn,
sweet corn and HVCDP with damages of P162,905,835.99.
While the fruits and
vegetable products accrued P4,459,566.15 in damages; with livestock damages
pegged at P42,500, mostly from drowning of goats, chicken, cow and pig.
Mr. Chua said they have
submitted the P167 million damages to the provincial government. He pointed out
though, that the amount does not include damages to personal properties such as
damaged houses.
He also disclosed that there
has been no report yet of damaged infrastructure.
The neophyte mayor mentioned
that it was good that the provincial government and the Dept. of Agriculture
have ready seeds available for distribution. This, he added, is aside from the
hybrid corn and vegetable seed from the Batac government itself.
He further stated that three
teams from City Hall are still collating and monitoring other damages. They
also serve as distributor of relief goods.
Mr. Chua thanked President Rodrigo
R. Duterte, who visited the province after they supertyphoon hit the province.
He disclosed that the president “approved in principle” Ilocos Norte governor
Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos’ report on the extent of damages in the
province. Mr. Duterte was accompanied by his secretaries of public works and
highways, health, social welfare and development, budget and management, and
agriculture.
Meanwhile, CDRRM officer IV
Arvin Francis Lumang said Batac was on red alert status as early as October 17
at 11 pm. This, he explained, immediately activated the disaster monitoring
system.
After this, Mr. Lumang said
they gave a steady report on weather forecast, bulletins and advisories to all
of Batac’s 43 barangays.
He added that Mr. Chua
suspended classes in all levels at the height of the typhoon through an
executive order. It should also be understood that Ms. Marcos earlier suspended
classes in all levels and work in government offices as early as October 18, or
right before the supertyphoon hit.
Mr. Lumang reported that
Brgys. Cangrunaan, Ricarte, Naguirangan, Mabaleng, Tabug and Aglipay were
submerged along with some areas at Brgys. Quiling Norte and Cangrunaan.
A total of 55 families—184
people in all—were also evacuated to the Batac City Hall, Mabaleng Community
Center, Parongopong Elementary School, and Barani Community Center.
Power returned to this city’s
poblacion area on October 24.
Dingras prepared early
Taking their cue from the supertyphoon Hainan (Yolanda)
experience in Tacloban City and Eastern Samar, Dingras mayor Erdio Valenzuela
said, “We are lucky this time everybody came prepared.”
According to Mr. Valenzuela,
it was difficult for them to convince people living in low lying areas to leave
their homes and move to barangay halls and school identified as evacuation
centers. They had to cite what supertyphoon Yolanda did in the Visayas region
where it claimed thousands of lives, the mayor said. This convinced Dingras
residents to give in to the local officials’ call before it got dark on October 19.
One casualty
Except for one casualty identified as 85-year old Aurora
Cariaga of Sitio Nagabungan in Davila, Pasuquin, who opted to stay home alone
when her house roofing was blown by strong winds on the evening
of October 19, residents here were quick to recover from Haima’s wrath and they
are now back in business.
“I never feared rains,
thunders, storms until Lawin was in the area. Signal no. 5 was not a joke.
Hearing the howling winds made me teary eyed. I was imagining Yolanda since i
saw how it damaged Samar. I would never forget the dates, October 19-20, when
my faith was tested and surrendered my family’s fate to Him [God],” said Candy
Soberano, a wife and mother of two from Laoag City as she expressed gratitude
“nothing bad happened and no severe damage” was experienced by her family
including the rest of the province.
Updates
Aside from the members of frontline departments and national
government line agencies who stayed up all night monitoring the weather,
youth volunteers and young workers at the Communication and Media Office under
the provincial government provided early advisories and up to date typhoon
situationers available for tri-media organizations and made a strong presence
in social media networking sites before power lines and communication signals
totally bogged down in the entire province.
Relief packs
Relief goods coming from the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) national office arrived at the Ilocos Norte Provincial
Capitol on the afternoon of October 20, 2016, containing 3,300 boxes of relief
goods for distribution to affected residents.
Each box contained
six kilograms of rice, four cans each of sardines and corned beef, and six
sachets of coffee. These supplemented existing relief supplies housed by the
Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and the DSWD regional
office.
In Batac City, mayor Albert D. Chua said they suffered P167,407,902.14
of damages from agriculture alone.
Initial reports from the Batac City Risk Reduction and
Management Council (CDRRMC) as of October 21 placed high value commercial crops
including rice, yellow corn, white corn, sweet corn and HVCDP with damages of
P162,905,835.99.
While the fruits and vegetable products accrued
P4,459,566.15 in damages; with livestock damages pegged at P42,500, mostly from
drowning of goats, chicken, cow and pig.
Mr. Chua said they have submitted the P167 million
damages to the provincial government. He pointed out though, that the amount
does not include damages to personal properties such as damaged houses.
He also disclosed that there has been no report yet of
damaged infrastructure.
The neophyte mayor mentioned that it was good that the
provincial government and the Dept. of Agriculture have ready seeds available
for distribution. This, he added, is aside from the hybrid corn and vegetable
seed from the Batac government itself.
He further stated that three teams from City Hall are
still collating and monitoring other damages. They also serve as distributor of
relief goods.
Mr. Chua thanked President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who
visited the province after they supertyphoon hit the province. He disclosed
that the president “approved in principle” Ilocos Norte governor Ma. Imelda
Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos’ report on the extent of damages in the province. Mr.
Duterte was accompanied by his secretaries of public works and highways,
health, social welfare and development, budget and management, and agriculture.
Meanwhile, CDRRM officer IV Arvin Francis Lumang said
Batac was on red alert status as early as October 17 at 11 pm. This, he
explained, immediately activated the disaster monitoring system.
After this, Mr. Lumang said they gave a steady report on
weather forecast, bulletins and advisories to all of Batac’s 43 barangays.
He added that Mr. Chua suspended classes in all levels at
the height of the typhoon through an executive order. It should also be
understood that Ms. Marcos earlier suspended classes in all levels and work in
government offices as early as October 18, or right before the supertyphoon
hit.
Mr. Lumang reported that Brgys. Cangrunaan, Ricarte,
Naguirangan, Mabaleng, Tabug and Aglipay were submerged along with some areas
at Brgys. Quiling Norte and Cangrunaan.
A total of 55 families—184 people in all—were also evacuated
to the Batac City Hall, Mabaleng Community Center, Parongopong Elementary
School, and Barani Community Center.
Power returned to this city’s poblacion area on October
24.
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