Heavy rains brought by an almost stationary typhoon “Pepeng” wrought massive destruction and flooding in Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija since early Thursday as two major dams – the Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija and the San Roque in Pangasinan – were forced to open their floodgates to prevent a more catastrophic breaching and collapse of the structures.

This as Pantabangan Dam officials heaved a big sigh of relief yesterday as the sun rose for the first time in 10 days, with the dam nearing its spilling level.

Carranglan and Pantabangan towns, and at least the outlying towns of Rizal and Bongabon in Nueva Ecija, were inundated by waters earlier released by Pantabangan Dam as a safety measure. Several remote barangays have not been heard from since last week.

As of press time, the road in Putlan, Carranglan town remains on a “close-open” basis as unceasing mudflows continue to hamper clearing operations. Only one lane remains passable at all times.

Joint teams from the Army and highways and provincial engineering clearing crew has kept a 24-hour watch over a roadblock site at KM Post 192-193 to ensure passage to the only corridor leading to and from the Cagayan Valley region.

For a while, truckers of relief items had a difficult time ferrying their life-saving cargo into the ravaged town of Tuguegarao in Nueva Vizcaya hard hit by the onslaught of typhoons.

Nueva Ecija’s First Engineering District, headed by Engr. Ramiro Cruz, posted on site one backhoe, one grader, one payloader and two dump trucks to answer the urgent need of clearing the area from boulders and fallen trees.

Carranglan town police chief, Senior Insp. Reuben G. Garcia, reported to Nueva Ecija provincial police office director Senior Supt. Ricardo Marquez that landslides have occurred between km posts numbers 192 and 193 in Barangays Puncan and Digdig here.

The overflowing river banks in faraway Aliaga town in Quezon, Licab, Sta. Rosa, and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija were not the effect of the water released from Pantabangan Dam, irrigation authorities stressed, but instead by the unusual heavy rainfall spawned by overstaying storm Pepeng hovering over Northern Luzon.

A bulletin released by the National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Service (NIA-UPRIIS) showed that as of Friday morning, Pantabangan’s elevation was 220.63 meters, with an inflow of 862 csm, which is just .36 meters away from its 221 meter spilling level.

The dam’s release of water since Thursday of 600 cubic meters per second (csm) has prevented the mammoth dam from spilling water from its 8,600-hectare reservoir.

NIA-UPRIIS Operations Manager Antonio S. Nangel reported that 804 csm flowed into the dam. Since Thursday morning, 600 csm have been released through the Murcon and Vaca rivers as well as the Pampanga River.

As early as 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Matias Umali ordered the evacuation of residents in low-lying areas especially along the banks of the Pampanga River and its tributaries Murcon in Llanera and Vaca in Rizal towns.

The governor had also cancelled school classes in all levels even as he directed the deployment of all amphibian rescue vehicles and dump trucks to ferry the distressed residents to higher grounds and to evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, rescue operations went on all through the night Thursday as dam authorities warned of a possible spill.

In Rizal town, massive evacuation from the Poblacion Norte and Calaocan were undertaken by elements of the Army’s 71st Infantry Battalion, the local police and local government officials.

Reports sent by 1Lt. Kleng Linga, 71IB press relations officer, said their unit rescued four families from drowning, while they are still searching for three more reported missing.

More than 500 families were evacuated to higher grounds as the swirling currents of released dam water continued to rush downriver.

Umali thanked Joe Soliman, president of the Casecnan multi-purpose irrigation and power project (CMPIIPP) for ordering the cut-off of water inflow into the Pantabangan Dam as early as October 5.

Umali said his plea for the cut-off of water into Pantabangan Dam was a desperation move but he had to do it. Otherwise, Nueva Ecija would be facing the same fate as Metro Manila which was submerged more than 10 days ago.

The damage to lives and properties prevented by such action of the Casecnan official is “unquantifiable, a heroic act,” he said.

Nangel justified the release of water from the dam as “a standard precautionary measure to make way for any huge amount of rainfall coming from a storm.”

Umali reported that 24 of the 27 towns and five cities of the province have been severely affected by the typhoons, and 150 out of 189 barangays remain under heavy volume of rainwater.

Umali said the calamity fund for such natural disaster will hold for at least the next three days.

As thousands of families left their homes, many were trapped on rooftops.

Since Friday morning, the long national highway traversing Pangasinan and Tarlac was submerged, stranding thousands of motorists along the boundary of San Manuel, Tarlac and Villasis, Pangasinan.

Thousands of motorists remain stranded since Thursday afternoon and until Friday along the national roads in Tarlac, Pangasinan, Carangalan in Nueva Ecija and other roads to Baguio City.

Chief Supt. Leon Nilo A. Dela Cruz, Central Luzon police director and concurrent chairman of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council 3, said at least 30 people were rescued in the flooded areas in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija that were submerged by floodwater up to 10 feet.

Undetermined numbers of robber boats, trucks and even the US VFA Balikatan 2009 Chinook helicopter were sent Friday to Pangasinan and Tarlac and other flooded areas, Dela Cruz said.

Reports from the office of Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino said 48 towns and cities in the province are now submerged in floods and mudslide.

More than 40,000 people left their house or were forcibly evacuated due to continuous rains and the near-overflowing dams.

The Office of Civil Defense said other towns affected were, Dingras, Nueva Era and Paoay towns in Ilocos Norte; Bangar and Luna in La Union.

Among the areas in Pangasinan affected are the towns of Asingan, Balungao, Basista, Bautista, Bayambang, Binalonan, Sta. Barbara, Dagupan City, Mangaldan, Natividad, Rosales, San Fabian, San Jacinto, San Manuel, San Quintin, Sta. Maria, Manaoag, Mapandan, Pozorrubio, Sison, Tayug, Umingan, and Villasis.

The weather bureau said yesterday morning that all of San Roque Dam's six gates were open and pouring water into downstream Agno River at the rate of 5,353 cubic meters per second.

Late Thursday night while Pepeng was approaching Northern Luzon, San Roque Dam was already releasing an unprecedented amount of 6,000 cubic meters per second from an earlier 3,000 cubic meters per second at 7 p.m.