Angat Dam will release water from its reservoir starting at 1 p.m. today and residents in low-lying areas of Bulacan were warned to take precautionary measures due to possible flooding.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration hydrologist Richard Orendain said the National Power Corp. has advised that they will be opening one of Angat Dam's gates with an opening of 0.5 meters and outflow of 60 cubic meters per second at 1 p.m.
This was after the water level of Angat Dam considerably increased by almost six meters to 211.30 meters Thursday morning. The dam's normal high water level is 210 meters.
Downstream of the Angat Dam is the Ipo Dam, which has also reached its spilling level of 101 meters. Currently Ipo Dam's water level is 101.2 meters.
Orendain said Ipo Dam's four spillway gates is releasing 587.4 cubic meters per second of water.
Areas near the Angat River that may be affected by the release of water from the Angat and Ipo reservoirs are Norzagaray, Angat, San Rafael, Bustos, Baliuag, Pulilan, Plaridel, and Hagonoy in Bulacan.
Around 8 a.m. Thursday, water from the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City has also reached its overflow level of 80.15 meters.
Areas that may be affected are Fairview, Forest Hill, Quirino Highway, Capri, Goodwill Homes, Sta. Quiteria and San Bartolome in Quezon City; Ligon, North Expressway, and Huerta in Valenzuela City; and Malabon City.
Ambuklao and Binga Dams in Benguet also recorded higher water levels at 751.8 meters and 572.05 meters and are currently releasing water from their reservoirs.
Ambuklao Dam has eight of its gates open at four meters each, with an outflow of 557.38 cubic meters per second.
The outflow of Ambuklao goes to downstream Binga Dam, which has six spillway gates, each opened at four meters. It has an outflow of 494.71 cubic meters per second.
Orendain said Barangays Dalupirit and Tinongdan in Itogon, Benguet may be affected by Binga Dam's spilling operations.
Some of the outflow from Binga Dam goes down to San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, which is still below its normal high water level.
Magat Dam in Isabela also continues to release water as its water level is at 190.10 meters.
Two gates are open at four meters high each with a total outflow of 989 cubic meters per second.
Due to the release of water from Magat Dam, residents of Ramon, San Mateo, Aurora, Cabatuan, Luna, Reina, Mercedes, Burgos, Naguilian, and Gamu in Isabela were asked to stay vigilant against possible flooding.