The current water level of Angat Dam, which was filled by recent typhoons “Egay” and “Falcon,” is not yet enough to fulfill the water needs of Metro Manila amid the threat of El Niño, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) said Tuesday.
This was as the Department of Agriculture bared its plan to mitigate the possible impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon on crops.
NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David said he is not yet comfortable nor confident even if Angat Dam’s water level is currently way beyond the rule curve of 180 meters.
David said the government needs to prepare for the expected effects of El Niño, as he justified the allocation for Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and its concessionaires, which was maintained at 48 cubic meters per second for August.
David said the level of Angat Dam should reach 210 to 212 meters by yearend to ensure that water needs for the summer are going to be met.
At a Palace briefing, Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Operation Arnel de Mesa said they were following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to take a “whole-of-government approach” to lessen the impact of drought on the country.
“The preparations of the DA when it comes to El Niño and, all the necessary interventions are, again, coordinated with our regional field offices to ensure that we are responsive to the possible effects of El Niño,” he said.
“We need to coordinate very closely with the National Irrigation Administration for the planting of rice,” he added.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said El Niño might last until the first quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, a total of 108 areas in six regions in Luzon have been placed under a state of calamity due to the combined effects of Typhoon Egay and the southwest monsoon or habagat, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
These cities and municipalities were in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
In Pampanga, which declared a state of calamity recently, 3rd District board member Jun Canlas said that almost half a million people, or 100,000 families in 232 barangays were affected by the bad weather.
About 6,000 families are staying in evacuation centers, he said, and more than P300 million worth of crops including rice, corn, and vegetables were damaged in the province.
Cagayan Vice Gov. Melvin Vargas Jr. said almost P1 billion worth of damage has been reported in the province so far.
Thousands of people were affected after their homes were damaged. Corn farmers were the hardest hit, he said.
Even though Egay left the Philippine area of responsibility on Thursday, the typhoon and the southwest monsoon affected 2.45 million people or 668,974 families in 4,164 barangays across the country.
The storm and rains also displaced 50,467 people who fled to evacuation centers, and 262,008 people who sought shelter elsewhere.
The reported death toll remained at 25—two of the fatalities had been confirmed, while 23 were still subject to validation.
The estimated cost of damage to infrastructure also remained at P3.5 billion, while damage to agriculture was pegged at P1.96 billion. The Department of Public Works and Highways, however, put the infrastructure damage at P6.94 billion.
Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said that P1.17 billion was the reported damage on roads, P162.6 million on bridges, and P5.60 billion on flood-control structures.
“The DPWH Quick Response Teams have cleared and reopened a total of 44 roads which is composed of 22 roads in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), 16 in Region 1, and three in Region 2.”
He said DPWH teams will be deployed in critical areas to clear the remaining 17 closed roads in CAR, Regions 1, 3, and 6.
The storm and monsoon rains damaged 41,591 houses, 1,633 of which were destroyed.
The NDRRMC report said 70 roads and three bridges also remained not passable.
Some 108 cities and municipalities suffered a loss of power, two had interrupted water supply while eight others had communication lines cut.
The NDRRMC said a total of P153.9 million worth of assistance was already provided to the affected regions.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that some 123,274 farmers and fishers in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Soccsksargen and Caraga were affected by bad weather.
A total of 147,063 hectares were also affected while the total volume of production loss has reached 86,975 metric tons (MT).
It added that affected commodities include rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries.
Some farm and fishery infrastructure and equipment also sustained damages, with the amount still being validated.
In other developments:
* The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said an initial P200 million will be allocated to provide job assistance to Northern Luzon workers affected by Egay. Labor Secretary
Bienvenido Laguesma said this figure may still go up according to the needs. The emergency employment program is a community-based assistance, in which displaced workers are employed for a minimum of 10 to 30 days.
* The state weather bureau said the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Falcon will continue to bring rain showers over Western Luzon and bring strong winds over most areas of the island and Western Visayas.
In its 4 a.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said occasional monsoon rains will continue over the western portion of Luzon in the next three days.
Flooding and rain-induced landslides remain highly likely, especially in areas highly susceptible to these hazards, PAGASA said.
* A team from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has started distributing clean drinking water to residents affected by Typhoon Egay in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
The MMDA sent the 20-man team to CAR to assist in the ongoing response operations in the affected communities devastated by the typhoon. So far, more than 10,000 gallons of drinking water have been distributed to 2,704 families in areas where the water supply is insufficient.