BOAT RIDE. Residents are ferried from their residences as floodwaters continue to rise in Calasiao, Pangasinan on Saturday (July 29, 2023). The town is under a state of calamity since July 28. (Photo courtesy of Calasiao CDRRMO)
CALASIAO, Pangasinan – The municipality of Calasiao has declared a state of calamity due to the effects of Typhoon Egay and the southwest monsoon.
In an interview on Sunday, Calasiao Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office spokesperson Christine Joy Soriano said flooding persists in the town and it is expected to continue for a week as the water from upstream is still going down.
She said the floodwater in the interior areas of the town reached as high as 6.5 feet as of posting time.
Calasiao is considered a catch basin in the province of Pangasinan.
Mayor Kevin Roy Macanlalay suspended classes in all levels both in public and private schools as well as work in government offices, except those concerned with disaster management, on July 31.
Soriano said the locality pegged the initial damage to agriculture at PHP2.4 million, aside from PHP154,000 worth of destroyed high-value crops.
There are 22 damaged houses, of which four were totally destroyed and 18 were partially wrecked due to strong winds and fallen trees, she said.
Two schools were destroyed -- Buenlag Elementary School amounting to PHP350,000 and a building at the Songkoy Elementary School amounting to PHP300,000, Soriano said.
Meanwhile, there are still 31 families or 120 individuals in the evacuation centers as of Sunday.
"There are those who were rescued from their residence but opted to stay in their relative's place," she said.
She said that they conducted pre-emptive evacuation and there were some residents who chose to stay but later called for rescue due to rising floodwaters.
Soriano said they have already distributed relief goods to the affected families. (PNA)
