Floods, landslides hit Cagayan villages

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines — Fourteen barangays in Claveria town in Cagayan were submerged in floodwaters yesterday due to heavy rains.

Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said two bridges and highways in Pamplona, Sanchez Mira and Sta. Praxedes towns were rendered impassable due to landslides and fallen trees.

Edwin Viernes of the flood monitoring division of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) clarified that the flashflood was not due to the release of water from Magat Dam.

NIA released water from the dam on Oct. 21 to ensure that it would not reach its spilling level.

The Cagayan Electric Cooperative II shut down power lines in Claveria and Sanchez Mira in Cagayan as well as in Calanasan, Apayao as a precautionary measure due to rising floodwaters.