CAGAYAN FLOOD

WHAT CAUSED CAGAYAN VALLEY’S WORST FLOOD IN 40

YEARS?
CAGAYAN FLOOD
• MANILA, Philippines — Officials offered various
explanations on Saturday for the worst flood to hit
Cagayan Valley in 40 years.Being a catch basin, the
water from other provinces and the water released
from the Magat Dam flowed toward Cagayan, causing
the flood, said Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba.
 CAGAYAN FLOOD
• The National Irrigation Administration (NIA)
said it has been releasing water from the dam
since Nov. 9 ahead of the landfall of Typhoon
Ulysses (international name: Vamco) and then
opened seven of Magat’s spillway gates to control
the reservoir’s overflow at the height of the
typhoon.
CAGAYAN FLOOD

• Wilfredo Gloria, operations manager of the Magat River

Integrated Irrigation System, told the Inquirer that the NIA
could not completely stop the release of water because
that could result in a more massive destruction as the
dam’s water level was at a critical point.
CAGAYAN FLOOD

• He said in a phone interview that five of the spillways had

been shut and only two gates remained open on Saturday,
discharging 1,355 cubic meters per second of water
against an inflow of 1,261 cms per second.
DANGER OF OVERLOADING

• This is to stabilize the dam’s water level which currently is at

192.19 meters, against the critical level of 193 m, Gloria
said.“What we want is to normalize the water level at 192 m or
at least below 193m, but we should also take into consideration
the communities that may be affected by this. So right now, as
much as possible, we are trying to stabilize it,” he said.
DANGER OF OVERLOADING

• “If we overload the reservoir up to 193 meters, it may lose

its natural stability. If we overload the dam and that
overloading prolongs, the dam may break,” Gloria added.
DANGER OF OVERLOADING

• The irrigation and hydroelectric dam was built in 1982 at

the boundary of Alfonso Lista town in Ifugao province and
the municipality of Ramon in Isabela.
• It has a 45-square-kilometer reservoir that is fed by watersheds
in Nueva Vizcaya (60 percent), Ifugao (33 percent) and
Isabela (7 percent).
DANGER OF OVERLOADING

• The NIA recorded that from Monday to Saturday, the

multipurpose dam reservoir had an inflow of 721.28
million cubic meters of water while outflow totaled
578.33 mcm.
DOWNSTREAM FLOW

• Ed dela Cruz, a hydrologist at the Philippine Atmospheric,

Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(Pagasa), said the current inflow of water was nearly the same
rate as the discharge of water at 1,271 cms—862 cms of
water for spilling and 409 cms for power generation.
DOWNSTREAM FALLS

• “The inflow of water to the dam must be lowered so that at least

the power generation and the inflow are equal.
• Then they could close the gates,” he said.Water continues to stream
into the dam from its 4,100-sq-km catch basin, Dela Cruz said.
DOWNSTREAM FALLS

• “Ulysses had a large rain band that reached up to Cagayan

and that rainfall is entering the expansive basin,” he said.
DOWNSTREAM FALLS

• Dela Cruz said that another factor that led to the

flooding was water from upper parts of Cagayan flowing
downstream to Cagayan River.
DOWNSTREAM FALLS

• Mark Timbal, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and

Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson, said the
widespread flooding in Cagayan Valley was not due to the
release of the water from Magat Dam, but rather the swelling
of Cagayan River over the course of several weeks.
DOWNSTREAM FALLS

• “These flooding incidents are the cumulative effects of the

continuous rains experienced in Luzon,” Timbal told the Inquirer.
• He explained that there has been “more than a month’s worth of
rainy days,” in addition to at least five successive tropical cyclones
that soaked the Luzon landmass.
DOWNSTREAM FALLS

• Timbal said rainfall from the previous storms and typhoons have
caused all the tributaries of the Cagayan River to swell, causing the
flooding.
• The release of the water from the dam also was a factor.In October
2015, at least 26 villages in Cagayan were flooded due to water
discharged by Magat Dam in Isabela in the aftermath of slow-moving
Tropical Storm “Lando” (Koppu) which inundated and caused
landslides in many northern and central Luzon provinces.
DOWNSTREAM FALLS

• NDRRMC executive director Ricardo Jalad insisted that the

council gave adequate warnings of flooding.
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• He said the agency’s advisories were the same as Pagasa’s “and

always highlight the risk of floods,” Jalad told reporters in a Viber
message.
• He also said that the agencies responsible for risk assessment for
hydrometeorological hazard is Pagasa and the Mines and Geosciences
Bureau.
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• He also said that the agencies responsible for risk

assessment for hydrometeorological hazard is Pagasa and
the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• Malacañang on Saturday said it was not caught unprepared

for the massive flood that rapidly swept through the provinces
of Cagayan and Isabela in the wake of Ulysses, even though
the local officials were surprised by its unprecedented
magnitude.
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• Many Filipinos who were following disaster relief and rescue operations in areas
battered by the typhoon, especially Metro Manila and Rizal province, heard reports
of the massive flood in the two northern provinces only late on Friday night and
Saturday morning.
• But presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council had earlier deployed relief supplies and rescue
personnel in the region.
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• “We were not caught unprepared because what we needed had been
prepositioned. We just deployed more air assets to the area,” Roque said
in the Laging Handa briefing.
• He said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been rescuing residents
in Isabela and Tuguegarao City as early as dawn on Friday.
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• Early Saturday, the PCG also deployed convoys with a multipurpose vehicle,
trucks, buses, newly procured rubber boats and rescue personnel, Roque
said.
• “The President is on top of the situation,” he added. “He is in
constant communication with [Defense] Secretary Delfin Lorenzana
and Undersecretary [Ricardo] Jalad of the [NDRRMC].”
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• In the same briefing, Mamba said the floodwater level rose to

13.1 m, higher than the 11 meters that it had risen to in the
past.
LOCAL GOV’TS SURPRISED

• “This is unprecedented in Cagayan, this is the first time we

experienced this. That’s why many were surprised. But really,
we prepared for this, but this is worse than what we prepared
for,” Mamba told the Laging Handa briefing.
• —With reports from Leila B. Salaverria, Patricia Denise M. Chiu and Inquirer Research
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• MIKAELA ROSE G. HERNANDEZ
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• Pamagat:
• DOH says policy barring face-to-face classes stays as
COVID-19 infections remain

• (https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/02/20/doh-says-policy-barring-
face-to-face-classes-stays-as-covid-19-infections-remain)

• Petsa: December 02 2020

• Tagpuan:Malacañang Palace
• Tauhan:President Rodrigo Duterte,
• Health Secretary Francisco Duque III
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• The Department of Health on Wednesday said it is still not recommending the
• resumption of face-to-face classes in schools in the country as almost all areas still have active COVID-19
cases.

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• Health Secretary Francisco Duque III previously said that face-to-face classes may resume in areas with zero
COVID-19 cases. But during a DOH briefing on Wednesday, he said that key areas continue to report new
COVID-19 cases.

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• “Sa hanay nga mga probinsya and highly urbanized cities and independent component cities, halos wala
nang lugar na zero cases for the last 2 to 4 weeks”
• the health chief said.
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• “Lahat 'yan meron except for Batanes. Batanes lang ang nakapagtala ng zero COVID
cases for the last 2 to 4 weeks,” he said.

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• 'Yung atin pong policy sa ngayon ay patuloy na no face-to-
face classes,” he emphasized, saying this is President
Rodrigo Duterte's directive.
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• H E S A ID IF THE P R E S ID E N TD E C ID
ES TO ALLOW FACE- TO-FACE CLASSES, GOV
ERNMENT MUST CRAFT G U ID E L IN E S .

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• F O R O N E , H E S A ID , P H Y S IC A L CLASS
ES MAY ONLY BEHELD IN A R E A S W IT H M
IN IM A L R IS K OF C O V ID - 1 9
• AND HEALTH F A C I L IT IE S IN THE
SE A R E A S M U S TH A V E E N O U G H C A P A C IT Y
TO DEAL W IT H N E W IN F E C T IO N S , E S
P E C IA L L Y P A T IE N T S W H OM IG H T N E E D C R IT IC A L

• CARE.

• THE NORTHERN P R O V IN C E O F BA
TANES R E C O R D E D IT S F IR S T C O V ID - 1 9 C A S E
IN SEPTEMBER BUT
• THERE ARE NO M O R E A C T IV E C A S
ES.
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• Thank you For
Listening to
me!
Quinta now a severe tropical
storm, more Luzon, Visayas
areas under Signal No. 2
 Tagpuan: Metro Manila, Philippines

Tauhan: Weather forecaster Benniston Estareja

Link:
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/10/
25/PAGASA-Quinta-weather.html
 More areas in Luzon and Visayas will experience
heavy rains as tropical storm Quinta (international
name: Molave) has further intensified into a severe
tropical storm, weather bureau PAGASA said
Sunday.
International
name:
Molave
 Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 2 was hoisted at noon Sunday over Masbate,
including Buriao and Ticao Islands, central portion of Quezon, and Occidental Mindoro
including Lubang Island. Other areas earlier placed under the cyclone warning signal
were Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, southern Quezon,
Batangas, Marinduque, Romblon, Oriental Mindoro, and Northern Samar.
Areas under Signal No. 2 will experience winds of greater than
61 kilometers per hour (kph) and up to 120 kph in at least 24
hours.
Winds may bring light to moderate damage to
the exposed communities, while sea and
coastal waters are dangerous to small
seacrafts.
Signal No. 1 has been raised over the following
areas in Luzon: the rest of Quezon, Laguna,
Rizal, Cavite, Metro Manila, Bulacan,
Pampanga, Bataan, the southern portion of
Zambales, and Calamian Islands.
 Areas under Signal No. 1 will experience
30- 60 kph winds which may cause little
damage to high-risk structures. They may
also experience occasional gusts in the next
36 hours.
PAGASA last located Quinta 180 km east
of Virac, Catanduanes, with stronger
maximum winds of 95 kph and gustiness
of up to 115 kph as it moves westward.
Quinta is expected to make landfall over Catanduanes- Albay-Sorsogon area
Sunday afternoon or evening. Prior to landfall, it may even intensify into a
severe tropical storm, according to PAGASA.
Weather forecaster Benniston Estareja said that Quinta
may also make multiple landfalls when it moves west
over the rest of Southern Luzon, particularly in
southern Quezon, Marinduque and Batangas.
Quinta may also turn into a typhoon
once it crosses the West Philippine
Sea, PAGASA said, adding it will
likely exit Philippine territory
Tuesday evening.
WHO: Vaccination
Program, not just
vaccine, will save
lives.
Date: November 19,
2020 Settiing: Manila,
 Philippines Character: Kate
O’Brien, Pres. Duterte,
Galvez, and
Vergiere

httips://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1 162 310/

vaccination-program-not-just-vaccine-
will-save-lives-who
 MANILA, Philippines — Though
manufacturers are starting to release promising
results of their candidate vaccines against the
new coronavirus, the World Health Organization
(WHO) on Tuesday stressed that it is not just the
vaccine but the vaccination program as well that
every country will put in place which will protect
and save hundreds of thousands of lives.
 Kate O’Brien, the WHO’s director for
immunization, vaccines and biologicals, pointed
out that despite the availability to the public of
various life-saving and effective vaccines
against a host of contagious diseases such as
measles, outbreaks continue to happen.
 “Getting to vaccine efficacy is like building base camp at
Everest but the climb to the peak is really about
delivering the vaccines and this cannot be
overemphasized—that the people who need to receive
these vaccines are the ones who really are the focus now
as we start to see that we have vaccines that may in fact
really have very strong efficacy,” O’Brien said at a
briefing at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva.
 Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines

 “There’s an enormous amount of work to do and

resources that will be needed to actually deliver the vaccines
to everybody who needs these vaccines should they in fact
come forward, as some of the press releases indicate they
should,” she added.
 Over the last few days, US drugmakers Pfizer and
Moderna, which are at the forefront of developing a
COVID-19 vaccine, released the preliminary results of
their clinical trials showing their vaccines are at least
90- percent effective against the severe respiratory
disease.
 Pfizer’s vaccine, however, poses a challenge to
low- income countries such as the Philippines
since it has to be stored in a freezer with a
temperature of -70 degrees Celsius or lower.
Moderna’s vaccine, on the other hand, can be
kept at a standard refrigerator temperature of
between 2 and 8 C.
 Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) admitted that
storing Pfizer’s vaccine would prove to be a challenge since
public health facilities aren’t equipped with ultralow
freezers. COVID- 19 national task force chief Carlito Galvez
Jr., however, is in talks with the private sector for possible
partnerships.
 This is why in selecting the vaccine that will be procured
by the government, the DOH said it was not only looking at
the characteristics of the vaccine but also the logistical
challenges it may present.
 Philippine financing

 “Our experts, together with us in the government, look at the trade-

offs of every vaccine if it’s possible or feasible to roll out in our
country,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
 In a briefing with President Duterte on Tuesday night,
Galvez said his task force, in consultation with vaccine
experts, was evaluating candidate vaccines before deciding
which one to buy.
 He said the government may enter into
multilateral arrangements with the World Bank
and the Asian Development Bank for the two
lenders to serve as the Philippines’ finance
managers for the purchase of COVID-19
vaccines.
 The government could also use other methods of
financing, including private-public tripartite agreement
without cost to the state.
 Duterte said that while the task force would have to
follow procurement regulations, he was ready to expedite
the process by issuing an executive order.
 “If it (procurement) takes time, then I can go directly and just
issue the order to buy and to vaccinate the population,” the
President said.
 Galvez said the task force was looking to buy 30 million to 50
million doses of a vaccine next year once it became available abroad
and in the Philippines.
 Ideally, the government prefers that the vaccine it will
buy is developed by a manufacturer that conducted trials in
the country. Though Pfizer and Moderna held their large-
scale Phase 3 clinical trials abroad, Vergeire stressed that
this would not hinder the government from procuring their
vaccines.
 “As long as they will go through the regulatory
process and our experts are able to evaluate the
vaccine, and the Food and Drug Administration
approves its use, then we can readily procure this
set of vaccines,” she said.
 ‘Very, very limited doses’

 This early though, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan

sought to temper expectations as she pointed out that there will be
“very, very limited doses” of the candidate vaccines during the
first half of 2021.
 “Supplies are going to be limited. There are bilateral
deals that many of the companies have done so many of the
doses have already been booked by some countries,” said
Swaminathan, adding that the WHO remained hopeful that
enough doses would be appropriated for the global
COVAX facility.
 On Wednesday, the DOH logged 1,383 additional
coronavirus infections, bringing the national case tally to
412,097. Cavite reported the most number of new
infections, 81, followed by Laguna (74), Batangas (71),
Quezon City (69) and Rizal (67).
 The DOH said 143 more patients had recovered, raising the
overall number of COVID-19 survivors to 374,666. The death toll,
however, climbed to 7,957 as 95 more patients succumbed to the
severe respiratory disease.
 The recoveries and deaths left the country with 29,474 active
cases, of which 83.8 percent were mild, 8.3 percent
asymptomatic,
0.22 percent moderate, 2.7 percent severe, and 4.9 percent critical.
 Thaank you!! :)

 Vince Liam Adriel D. Garcia

Typhoon Ulysses’ damage
to the agriculture sector at
P12.8-B-DA
TAUHAN: UNDERSECRETARY
RICARDO JALAD DA
SPOKESPERSON NOEL REYES
TAGPUAN: NCR, AND
CAGAYAN PUBLISH DATE:
NOVEMBER 26, 2020
Typhoon Ulysses’ damage and losses to the agriculture sector
grew to P12.8 billion, from the previously reported P4 billion,
due to production losses at farm commodities like rice, corn,
high-value crops, among others.
This is according to Department of Agriculture (DA)
Spokesperson Noel Reyes, who refused to comment on the latest
damage report of National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (NDRRMC), which was issued on
Thursday (November 26), that specified that Ulysses incurred
P540-billion worth of damages to agriculture sector.
“Ang sa amin ay P12.8 billion lang, hindi ako ang makakasagot
ng sa iba [agri sector only incurred P12.8 billion so far, I don’t
know about the others,” Reyes said in a phone interview,
referring to agricultural crops and small irrigation facilities that
were damaged by the typhoon.
Asked if he thinks NDRRMC’s data was bloated because there
were major irrigation facilities, owned by National Irrigation
Administration (NIA), that might have been damaged due to
Ulysses, Reyes refused to answer.
In a separate inquiry, a NIA staff member mentioned that the
country’s irrigation system so far incurred P2.1 billion worth of
damages due to Ulysses.
NIA, which used to be under DA and is now a government-
owned and controlled corporation, is responsible for the
country’s irrigation development and management.
The staff also refused to comment on the NDRRMC report,
which cited DA and NIA as sources of its report. Based on
NDRRMC’s detailed report, which was already corrected,
Typhoon ‘Ulysses’ left more than P540 billion damage in
agriculture alone, with Cagayan Valley being the hardest hit
region sustaining P248 billion in damages.
Bicol region was next, having to suffer from almost P159 billion
in damage, while MIMAROPA reported P56 billion in damage.
The NDRRMC even reported P349 million worth of agricultural
damage in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, the executive director of the
NDRRMC, said the figures came during the rapid damage
assessment by the government agencies in the affected areas in
the past days.
Later on, NDRRMC issued a correction on its damage report,
saying that Ulysses’ damage to the agriculture sector so far is
only around P4.72 billion, which also doesn’t match what Reyes
said.
NDRRMC also stripped NCR off the list of the ‘agricultural’
areas affected, since NCR is not necessarily an agriculture
area.
Thank You!