Tropical Storm Maring leaves Dagupan City in a state of calamity

DAGUPAN CITY – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) has declared this city under a state of calamity in an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon.

Dagupan city flooded

Mayor Marc Brian Lim sent a letter certified as urgent to the city council members, indicating the need to place Dagupan under a state of calamity due to the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm Maring.

“The passage of the resolution declaring a state of calamity in the city would enable the city government utilization of government resources and processes to address the calamity and to effectively restore and rehabilitate the living conditions and capacities of affected families, livelihood, infrastructure, and other service facilities of the city,” Lim said in an interview.

He noted that it had been three days since “Maring” ceased but the city’s river systems are still at an extremely critical level, compounded by the high tide occurring early morning for several days now.

"We expect that for the next four or five days, we will continue to suffer from this flooding as rainwater from the uplands continues to flow downstream towards Dagupan City,” he said.

River levels still rising

Based on the initial report from the City Social Welfare Office, about 601 individuals from at least 165 families were brought to evacuation centers these past days, while the City Agriculture Office reported that about fifty fishpond and fish cage operators have been affected by the typhoon and the subsequent flooding. (PNA)