Houses submerged as river overflows

FLOODWATERS submerged hundreds of houses in the northern Philippines on Monday after water released from the Magat Dam following Typhoon Pepito caused the Cagayan River to break its banks.

Packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 185 kilometers an hour, Pepito slammed into Catanduanes island late Saturday and the main island of Luzon on Sunday afternoon.

The sixth major storm to batter the Philippines in a month dumped heavy rain, smashed flimsy buildings, knocked out power and claimed at least eight lives.

PEPITO’S DOING An aerial view shows submerged homes at a village in Ilagan, Isabela province, on Nov. 18, 2024, due to continuous heavy rains from Super Typhoon Pepito. PHOTO BY VILLAMOR VISAYA/AFP

The national weather service had warned of a “potentially catastrophic” impact from Pepito, which was a super typhoon when it hit, but President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday it “wasn’t as bad as we feared.”

But as people cleaned up on Monday, floods began hitting communities in the north after water from Magat Dam was released, causing the Cagayan River and some tributaries to overflow.

Rooftops could be seen poking through brown water in Ilagan city in Isabela province, while buildings and roads near Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province were inundated.

“If Magat Dam continues to release water on all of its seven gates, Ilagan city might get erased from the map due to flooding,” Jun Montereal, chairman of the city’s disaster preparedness committee, said, est