Napocor praying for 2 Ondoys

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – As the water in Angat dam continues to drop below critical level, officials of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) are hoping for two storms with heavy rainfall like Tropical Storm Ondoy to replenish water in the dam.

The water elevation at Angat dam fell further to 179.29 meters above sea level as of 6 a.m. yesterday after it hit the critical 180 meters Sunday afternoon.

Engineer Rodolfo German, general manager of the Angat River Hydroelectric Power Plant of Napocor, said that it is now customary for them to hope for typhoons and heavy rainfall for these would instantly replenish the receding water level of Angat dam should the rains hit the 53,000-hectare watershed in eastern Bulacan.

Napocor president Gladys Sta. Rita and engineer Romualdo Beltran of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Division of Napocor have the same view.

“It’s not the number of typhoons, but the volume and thickness of rain,” Sta. Rita added.

Tropical Storm Ondoy, which hit Metro Manila in 2009, poured 455 mm of rainfall in 24 hours but 341 mm of it fell in just six hours.

This record was breached by the 472 mm rainfall during the severe monsoon rains that inundated Metro Manila in August 2012.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced on Tuesday the possible onset of the rainy season later this month as it spotted a low-pressure area.

But PAGASA also said that a strong El Niño is expected to occur starting in June or July and would last until early next year, and the phenomenon would also bring strong typhoons.

Plans against El Niño

Government agencies are now crafting plans to mitigate the effects of El Niño, which is seen to affect the country’s farm lands and water supply.

“We are already conducting interagency coordination for the preparations to mitigate the effects of El Niño,” National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Alexander Pama said.

NDRRMC spokesman Maj. Rey Balido said an interagency meeting would be held within the month to finalize preparations.

“The meeting will be attended by representatives of agencies involved in water supply like National Irrigation Administration, National Water Resources Board, and Local Water Utilities Administration,” Balido said.

He said other agencies like the Department of Agriculture would also participate in the crafting of the preparation plans. An interagency task force may be formed to coordinate the mitigation measures.

Prayer against Calamities

Sta. Rita said Napocor has sent communication to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle asking for the oratio imperata, a prayer for deliverance from calamities like drought, strong typhoons and flood.

They have not yet received a formal reply, but churches in Bulacan already started praying the oratio imperata as early as Sunday.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas also recently issued Circular 2014-15 on the “Obligatory Prayer against Calamities” that would be prayed by the people in the archdiocese for about five months, from May 15 until Sept. 29.