Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Philippine Coast Guard personnel help families in Buguey, Cagayan evacuate their homes on July 24, 2026 in anticipation of the effects of Typhoon Kiyapo. Cagayan Public Information Office photo

Article (news)

Ariel Rojas

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1785023856027755063257_1041581365283291_2855473075968358203_n.png.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Philippine Coast Guard personnel help families in Buguey, Cagayan evacuate their homes on July 24, 2026 in anticipation of the effects of Typhoon Kiyapo. Cagayan Public Information Office photo</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Typhoon Kiyapo, which crossed Extreme Northern Luzon on Friday, dumped more than two weeks’ worth of July rainfall in three locations, PAGASA data showed.</p><p>Laoag City, Ilocos Norte recorded 299.9 millimeters of rain from 8 a.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday. This is about 19 days of rain in the area during the month of July.</p><p>Nearby Sinait, Ilocos Sur measured 274 mm, equivalent to 16 days of rainfall in the town for the month.</p><p>Despite that, corn and rice farmers in the region still face a shortage that has already affected crops and threatens future harvests.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ORANGE, RED RAINFALL WARNINGS IN ILOCOS</strong></div><p>Ilocos Norte was placed under orange and red heavy rainfall warnings from 2 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Saturday. Heavy rains triggered flooding in Laoag and the towns of Paoay, Piddig, and Solsona.</p><p>“Awa ng Diyos, madali namang nagsubside [yung baha] nung tumigil ang ulan ng mga around 2, 3 o’clock this morning. Humupa na yung malalakas na ulan. Madali ring nagsubside yung tubig,” Marcell Tabije, department head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Ilocos Norte, said on &quot;Ligtas Dapat&quot; on DZMM Saturday.</p><p>(Thank God the floodwaters subsided quickly once the heavy rains stopped at around 2 or 3 a.m.)</p><p>Tabije said most of the close to 600 families who evacuated had already returned home.</p><p>He said Kiyapo’s rains brought much-needed relief to farmers after months of below-normal rainfall.</p><p>“Ngayon, palay ang main crop dito sa lalawigan. Kailangan talaga ng tubig lalo na ang mahal na ngayon ng presyo ng diesel, yun ang ginagamit ng ating mga kababayan na nagsasaka para mapatubigan yung mga pananim nila,” he said.</p><p>(Rice is the main crop in the province this season. Farmers badly need rainwater, especially with diesel prices remaining high. They rely on diesel-powered pumps to irrigate their fields.)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/weather-traffic/2026/7/26/habagat-bringing-heavy-rains-in-3-luzon-provinces-0020">Habagat bringing heavy rains in 3 Luzon provinces</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>KIYAPO RAINS STILL NOT ENOUGH</strong></div><p>In neighboring Cagayan, Aparri town recorded 125.4 mm of precipitation, or 20 days of July rain in the municipality.</p><p>Flooding was reported in the nearby towns of Alcala, Baggao, Calamaniugan, and Santa Teresita.</p><p>“Nag-subside na. Mabilis lang naman yung pagbaha. Na-impound lang, wala lang outlet,” Cagayan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Head Ruelie Rapsing also told DZMM.</p><p>(The floodwaters have already subsided. The flooding did not last long because rainwater just accumulated in areas with no outlet.)</p><p>Despite the nearly three-week rain dumped in northern Cagayan in just 24 hours, Rapsing said the precipitation was not enough.</p><p>“Yung buong ibinuhos na yun kulang pa rin para sa amin… Medyo nabitin kami sa ulan. Hindi sapat dahil talagang tuyot na tuyot pa man dumating itong si Kiyapo. [Nasa] 165,000 hectares yung reported of the provincial agriculturist natin na apektado nung tagtuyot po natin,” he lamented.</p><p>(All the rain that fell was not enough for us. We were still left wanting for more. It was not sufficient because the land had already become extremely dry even before Kiyapo arrived. The Provincial Agriculture Office reported that around 165,000 hectares of farmland had been affected by the drought.)</p><p>The province of Cagayan had below-normal rains in April and May, resulting in a dry spell, and from June, had more than 60-percent rainfall reduction, considered a meteorological drought.</p><p>Corn farmers, who rely on rainfall instead of irrigation, were the hardest hit.</p><p>“Nangulubot na yung mga corn po natin dahil sa init. Now na umulan siya, hopefully makapagtanim ulit yung ating mga farmers,” Rapsing explained.</p><p>(The corn crops had already wilted due to the heat. Now that it has rained, we hope our farmers can plant again.)</p><p>Cagayan declared a state of calamity in April due to drought and rising fuel prices brought about by the conflict in the Middle East.</p><p>The province&#x27;s disaster council is seeking an extension of that declaration to keep providing assistance to farmers until the end of the year.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/weather-traffic/2026/7/25/qc-drrmo-climate-change-supercharges-el-ni-o-typhoons-0038">QC DRRMO: Climate change supercharges El Niño, typhoons</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>NO RELIEF FOR THE DAMS</strong></div><p>Kiyapo’s outer rainbands also failed to replenish the water levels in Northern Luzon’s major reservoirs.</p><p>Magat Dam, which straddles Ifugao and Isabela, fell from 161.39 meters on Friday to 160.70 meters on Saturday morning, just 0.70 meters above its critical low level of 160 meters.</p><p>Ambuklao Dam also declined by 0.13 meters.</p><p>The 140 mm of monsoon rains forecast over the Angat watershed failed to materialize, keeping Angat Dam — the main source of Metro Manila&#x27;s water — at another record low of 150.60 meters. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/weather-traffic/2026/7/23/pagasa-warns-metro-manila-may-face-water-crisis-next-year-2043">PAGASA warns Metro Manila may face water crisis next year</a></div><p>PAGASA had hoped the rainfall would raise the reservoir by five to seven meters.</p><p>State hydrologists have warned that amid the ongoing El Niño, Metro Manila, which gets about 90 percent of its water supply from Angat Dam, could face a water crisis next year if the reservoir fails to recover to its normal high level of 210 meters by the end of the year.</p>

<p>Typhoon Kiyapo, which crossed Extreme Northern Luzon on Friday, dumped more than two weeks’ worth of July rainfall in three locations, PAGASA data showed.</p>

Typhoon Kiyapo, which crossed Extreme Northern Luzon on Friday, dumped more than two weeks’ worth of July rainfall in three locations, PAGASA data showed.

Kiyapo’s more than two weeks’ worth of rain not enough for parched Northern Luzon

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Kiyapo’s more than two weeks’ worth of rain not enough for parched Northern Luzon

Ariel Rojas,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 26, 2026 08:08 AM PHT

Read More:

PAGASA

Kiyapo

Habagat

Southwest monsoon

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