Joselito Malig

Flood forces evacuees to leave school in Cauayan, Isabela

Article (news)

Karen De Guzman

ABS-CBN News

CAUAYAN CITY, Isabela &mdash; Evacuees temporarily sheltering at the Alicaocao Elementary School in Cauayan City were forced to leave the premises on Monday after floodwaters submerged the school grounds.According to school principal Jumerlyn Garcia, the floodwaters began rising early in the morning.&ldquo;Umaga lang, nasa labas pa ang tubig. But then after one hour, napansin ko, one foot na &lsquo;yung idinagdag doon sa level ng water po. And then per hour, nag-i-increase na &lsquo;yung water level natin dito sa loob ng school,&rdquo; Garcia said.The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) of Isabela explained that the floodwaters came from continuous rains in the upper provinces, including Aurora and Isabela.&ldquo;Isa sa pinakamababang area talaga ito. Then we have irrigation kasi dito sa may labas ng school. Dahil hindi na maka-pass &lsquo;yung tubig dyan, bumabalik na sa amin ang tubig,&rdquo; Garcia said.<div>EARLY PREPARATION</div>Even before the flooding, the school administration had already implemented precautionary measures, knowing that Alicaocao is a flood-prone area.&ldquo;Nauna na naming nailikas &lsquo;yung mga learning materials, printer, laptops, at iba pang kagamitan,&rdquo; Garcia said.&ldquo;So far, nabasa lang siguro &lsquo;yung mga upuan natin sa loob kasi mahirap na silang ilabas.&rdquo;About 30 families, or 160 individuals, who had sought shelter in the school were transferred to higher ground for their safety.Before leaving, school staff and volunteers distributed meals to the affected residents.<div>CALL FOR ASSISTANCE</div>Garcia appealed to local officials to help repair classrooms that have been damaged by previous typhoons, noting that some roofs are leaking whenever it rains.&ldquo;To our local government, since ang Alicaocao ay nagsisilbing evacuation center sa ating mga community people, we are requesting sa mga classroom namin&hellip; may mga naapektuhan kasi ng previous bagyo. Natamaan &lsquo;yung roof namin. For repair sana kasi tumutulo na sa loob ng classroom,&rdquo; Garcia said.As of posting, disaster officials continue to monitor the situation in low-lying areas of Isabela, where several barangays remain under floodwater due to heavy rains from the past few days.

Evacuees temporarily sheltering at the Alicaocao Elementary School in Cauayan City were forced to leave the premises on Monday after floodwaters submerged the school grounds.

Evacuees temporarily sheltering at the Alicaocao Elementary School in Cauayan City were forced to leave the premises on Monday after floodwaters submerged the school grounds.