LINGAYEN, Pangasinan -- A dike along the Sinocalan River in Sta. Barbara town collapsed Sunday morning, aggravating the existing flood in Sta. Barbara, Calasiao and Dagupan City even if Super Typhoon Lawin (Haima) already exited four days ago.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) spokesperson Avenix Arenas said her office sent a team to help the Sta. Barbara Municipal Government repair the washed out dike but could not proceed with the work yet as the water of the Sinocalan river is still high.
This is the reason some typhoon evacuees have not yet returned to their respective homes in Calasiao and Dagupan City as water in their communities is still high.
At the same time, the PDRRMO reported that Typhoons Karen and Lawin exacted P133-million worth of damages in infrastructure, as well as P53.4 million partial/unofficial damages in agriculture in Pangasinan as of noon of October 24.
Arenas said the damaged infrastructures in Pangasinan were provincial roads with the first district of Pangasinan sustaining most of the damages, and barangay roads of which the third district of the province got the biggest damages.
There was yet no report on damages on national roads and bridges, as well as other infrastructure under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The partial and unofficial damage report in agriculture was on rice where farmers in the first district of the province registered the most damages, and fisheries, mostly in the second district of Pangasinan.
Arenas expects the damages in agriculture will still rise some more once all the reports are in.
A total of 3,179 families or 14,454 individuals were affected by Super Typhoon Lawin in Pangasinan.
Arenas said PDRRMO maintained that no casualty was reported in Pangasinan during both typhoons and that the death of a person in Tayug was not considered disaster-related because the victim jumped from the window at the back of their house down to the Agno River itself, which, at that time, was already swelling.
The body of the victim has not yet been found. (PNA)