“Parang Pacific Ocean (It looks like the Pacific Ocean).”
This was how a disaster management official described Cagayan province after it was submerged in massive floodwaters Friday due to Typhoon “Ulysses.”
Col. Ascio Macalan, an official of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in Cagayan (PDRRMO Cagayan), said all municipalities in the province had been inundated.
The water level in Cagayan’s Buntun Bridge has also reached 13 meters, according to Macalan.
“Kakaiba ang nangyari sa mga nakaraang taon (What happened now is unlike the past years),” Macalan said.
As of Friday, a total of 13, 208 families, or 47,081 individuals have already been affected by the flooding in the province.
As for the total number of persons that need rescuing, Macalan said they still can’t ascertain the exact figures.
In the town of Enrile, however, about 25,000 individuals need to be rescued.
Macalan said the province has already mobilized all its resources for rescue operations but still needs more assistance.
The disaster management official sought additional floating assets for rescue operations.
Macalan also called on the government to allow the province to declare a state of calamity.