Tropical Storm “Neneng” dumped rains over Cagayan province in Cagayan Valley (Region 2), bringing flood that reached the roof of many houses and trapping residents, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported Sunday morning, Oct. 16.

The NDRRMC released the first situational report for TS Neneng which showed that a total of 337 families or 960 individuals were pre-emptively evacuated in the downstream municipalities of Lal-lo, Camalaniugan, Baggao, Santa Praxedes, Buguey, Lasam, Ballesteros, and Calayan in Cagayan province.

In Sta. Ana, Cagayan, search and rescue (SAR) teams were attending to calls for help from the residents who were trapped on the roof of their houses due to heavy rains that lasted overnight.

“May mga tubig pa ho at dito sa ating bayan ng Sta. Ana. Kagabi ay pinuntahan ito ng ating responders. Sa ngayon, patuloy ang ating pagmonitor sa kanila at ang ating naitala simula kagabi, mayroon tayong mga kababayan na nagpre-emptive evacuation (There are still water in the municipality of Sta. Ana. Last night, our responders went there. Right now, we are still monitoring the area and we recorded last night that there were some residents who were pre-emptively evacuated),” said Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 2 information officer Michael Conag in a radio interview over dzBB.

No casualty was reported so far, and the OCD in Cagayan Valley was praying that the status would remain the same unlike during Tropical Depression Maymay which left one dead in the region last week.

Conag added that the weather has improved a little which enabled responders to go to more flooded areas in Cagayan and rescue other trapped residents.

“Sa ngayon, ang pag-ulan ay hindi na ganoon kalakas katulad kagabi. Ayon sa ating MDRRMOs, ‘yung kanilang weather situation ay mayroong pag ambon na lang po at hoping na mawala na po (Right now, the rain is not that strong unlike last night. According to our municipal disaster risk reduction and management offices, the weather situation has improved and only slight rain remains, we are hoping this would stop soon),” he said.

“Itong area rin kasing nabanggit na downstream areas ay may naiwang pagbaha si Tropical Depression Maymay and here comes Typhoon Neneng at nagdala ng patuloy na pag-ulan simula kahapon (These downstream areas were also flooded by Tropical Depression Maymay and here comes Typhoon Neneng which also brought rains since yesterday),” the disaster official added.

Food and non-food items for the evacuees were sufficient as of Sunday, according to Conag, but additional supplies may be needed from the regional agencies as more rescued typhoon victims are expected to be temporarily sheltered in evacuation centers.

“’Ang ating pangangailangan ay sapat naman po at kung may kakailanganin pa ay may nakastandby tayo sa regional line agencies na nakapreposition na food and non-food items (Our needs are sufficient for now and if we need additional supplies, there are standby food and non-food items from the regional line agencies),” Conag said.

Electric supply was also cut in parts of Cagayan, particularly in Sta. Ana, due to flooding.

“Doon sa areas na may pagtaas ng tubig like Sta. Ana ay may tinanggalan ng supply ng kuryente dahil ito ay safety protocol ng electric companies. Kapag may pagtaas ng tubig ay inaalis ang service ng kuryente to avoid any eventualities (In some flooded areas like Sta. Aba, the supply of electricity was cut off since it is part of the safety protocol of the electric companies. If there is flooding, the electric service is removed to avoid any eventualities), Conag explained.

Conag said residents may contact the hotline of OCD Region 2 at 0927-425-1954 if they need rescue or other forms of immediate assistance.