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La Mesa Dam remains on red alert
La Mesa Dam Watershed (Wikimapia)
MANILA – Due to continuous rains brought by the southwest monsoon, the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City is now on red alert, according to Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Sunday.
In an interview, PAGASA hydrologist Richard Orendain said that the dam is is almost overflowing as the water level reached 80.06 meters as of 10 a.m., with 0.9 meters away from its spilling level of 80.15 meters.
“Saturday pa under red alert level dahil sa patuloy na pagulan inaabisuhan natin ang mga maapektuhan na maging handa at kung maaari ay lumikas. Naabisuhan na yung mga local governments may mga nag evacuate na ,” Orendain told the Philippines News Agency (PNA).
The dam has no gates and the excess water from it will spill and flow into the Tullahan River, which flows through the northern part of Quezon City, including the Fairview area, as well as the cities of Malabon, Valenzuela, and Caloocan.
Meanwhile, he added that Ipo Dam in Bulacan opened one gate by one meter with 49.3 cubic meter per second as the water level was at 101.33 meters as of 10 a.m., exceeding its normal high level of 101 meters.
Orendain noted that Ipo’s waters flow downstream to the Angat Dam in Bulacan, which can contain the spillage. Angat Dam’s water level stood at 179.30 meters or way below its normal 210-meter water level.
Meanwhile, the water levels of Magat dam in Isabela, San Roque dam in Pangasinan Ambuklao and Binga dams in Benguet, Pantabangan dam in Nueva Ecija, Caliraya dam in Laguna, are either below or at normal levels, he added.
