3 Central Luzon dams release water amid 'Ramil' threat

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines  – As typhoon “Ramil” approaches, three major dams in Central Luzon continue to gradually release water to create a safe buffer of at least one meter below the critical level.

“I think we are better prepared for Ramil this time after the floods caused by storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng,” Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo de la Cruz, Central Luzon police director and Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) chairman, told The STAR yesterday during a break in the council’s meeting.

He said officials of the Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija and the Ipo and Angat dams in Bulacan reported to the RDCC that they are prepared to cope with the heavy rainfall that Ramil might bring.

De la Cruz said he will meet again with all representatives of government agencies comprising the RDCC to “fine-tune our preparedness” for the typhoon.

While he declined to give figures on how many people have to be evacuated in a worst-case scenario in Central Luzon, De la Cruz said provincial and municipal disaster coordinating councils in the region “already know what to do.”

“I think we did relatively well during storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng as our casualties were not that many. But we will remain ever vigilant,” he said.

De la Cruz said provincial and municipal disaster councils have “full awareness” of “critical areas” whose residents face the most threat from floods and landslides.

“They have prepared trucks and boats that would be needed to rescue endangered folk and even carry out preemptive evacuation, if necessary,” he said.

He noted though that floodwaters have not even subsided in some parts of Central Luzon since Ondoy battered the region last Sept. 26.

He cited the case of Calumpit and Hagonoy towns in Bulacan where a number of barangays are still under water as they serve as catch basin of floodwaters from higher areas.

De la Cruz said the RDCC has also stockpiled relief goods that might be needed in evacuation centers.