MALASIQUI: La Union recorded its first casualty since rains from the southwest monsoon aggravated by Super Typhoon Carina started Tuesday, while the number of evacuees has declined to 59 families.
La Union Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Aureliano Rulloda III, in his report on Thursday, identified the 11-year told victim as Hayzel Rey Gaudia from Barangay Tammocalao Bacnotan town.
He said the victim was brought to a hospital after she was hit by a fallen tree on July 23 but was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctor.
Meanwhile, the search and rescue or retrieval operations for the 64-year-old male from Barangay Halog East and the 48-year-old female from Barangay Urayong in Bauang town are ongoing amid the heavy rainfall.
The male from Tubao was allegedly swept away by strong water current while crossing a river, while the female was suspected to have drowned.
Rulloda said the number of evacuees is down to 59 or 140 individuals against the 94 families or 237 indivi
duals on Wednesday night.
‘A total of 1,261 families or 4,236 individuals in 44 barangays of 11 municipalities in La Union were affected by the weather disturbance,’ he said.
Rulloda said 19 villages in San Fernando City and five in Santol town are still affected by power interruption.
Four houses in Naguilian town were totally damaged while three in the same town, one in Balaoan town, and two in Aringay tow were partially damaged.
Thirty road sections were affected by flooding and soil erosions in four towns namely Bagulin, Caba, Naguilian, and Bauang, and in San Fernando City, but most are already passable.
To date, those that are still not passable are the Nagyubuyuban Road, Poro Road and Calabugao Road, all in San Fernando City; Wallayan Road and Libbo Road in Bagulin; and Baccuit Sur in Bauang.
In Pangasinan, PDRRMO Emergency Operations Center assistant director Pia Flores, in a phone interview on Thursday, said 11 families in Alaminos City, two in Bani town, and three in Labrador town were evacuat
ed on Wednesday due to flooding and high tide.
‘We are still verifying the reports from other local government units on the number of evacuees in their jurisdictions,’ she said.
She said Dagupan City and Lingayen town have reported flooding in some of their areas but these have subsided except those in the rice fields.
‘Some barangay roads are not passable but the major roads in the province are all passable except for the Villa Verde Road in Barangay Malico San Nicolas,’ she said.
Flores said the river systems in the province are at above normal level.
She said they are also monitoring the Camiling River, which borders Pangasinan and Tarlac, which is already at 7.94 meters against the seven to eight meters critical level as of 8:00a.m. today.
The Camiling River will affect 13 villages in Mangatarem town, Pangasinan.
Meanwhile, classes in all levels and work in government offices have been suspended both in Pangasinan and La Union on Thursday.
According to the 11 a.m. bulletin of the state weather bur
eau, the center of the eye of Carina is already outside of the Philippine Area of Responsibility since it was estimated at around 515 kilometers north northwest of Itbayat, Batanes.
However, rains are still expected to persist due to the Southwest Monsoon.
Source: Philippines News agency