National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Benny Antiporda on Monday gave assurance that there would be no floods in Isabela, including Aurora town as an offshoot of typhoon Karding.
Antiporda said the NIA was successful in addressing floods due to the release of raw waters at the height of super tyhoon “Karding” to the newly revised Magat Dam Protocol on dam discharge and flood warning operations.
“Promptness exceeds diligence,” he stressed.
The NIA Magat River Integrated Irrigation System had already opened a gate at Magat Dam two days before the landfall of “Karding,” he said.
He added that the Bustos Dam was reported to have reached 17.08 meters or beyond its spilling level of 17 meters.
The agency in Region III deflated two of its rubber gates to regulate the releases from Ipo Dam in Bulacan, Antiporda said.
All nearby barangays in San Rafael and Bustos towns were given early warning as early as Sunday at 8 p.m.
The heavy downpour spawned by “Karding” triggered floods in some parts of Dona Remedios Trinidad and San Miguel in Bulacan since Bulo Dam, considered as an open dam, could only contain up to 76 meters of water.
Antiporda said they had ensured that residents and all stakeholders were properly and immediately informed with the scheduled dam water release.
He said due to the structural integrity of NIA dams, “Karding” incurred no damages to the infrastructure projects based on the initial report from field offices.
He said the NIA has closely and intensively monitored the dams’ situations, and coordinated with local government units and other government agencies two days ago before “Karding” battered Luzon.
He asked the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to include the NIA in its situation briefing with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during calamities.
NIA continuously conducts field investigation and site visits to gather data about the infrastructure and crop damages, and closely monitors the status of all dams.