ILAGAN, Isabela — As the tail of the cold front continue in the eastern part of Luzon which brought continuous rains for days already here, this town’s low lying areas were under flood waters especially those near the rivers.

The situation prompted Ilagan town officials to declare a state of calamity due to the continuous rains.

An initial report from the Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC) recorded as of press time, there were nine families in Barangay Bintacan evacuated to a school while 200 persons evacuated from Barangay Pugo here.

Ilagan Information Officer Jun Monterial said the initial report from the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office would be expected to increase due to continuous heavy rains in the province of Isabela.

“It is expected that more families will be evacuated due to sudden rise of waters from Pinaknawan and Cagayan Rivers,” Monterial said.

There were also initial reports that large areas of rice and corn farms were affected by flood.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) here were alerted to assist and help in the rescue, relief and evacuation efforts of the Ilagan Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has suspended classes to all levels to avoid accidents.

Earlier, PAGASA forecast that a cold front would still continue in the eastern part of Luzon, which brought heavy rains in the last three days.

The MDCC is still on high on alert in monitoring the effects of the heavy rains in the province.

Meanwhile, The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) said Magat Dam is still in its normal water level despite continuous rains affecting eastern Luzon area.

OCD Isabela Provincial Office reported that as of 6:00 A.M. Monday the dam water level is at 187.69 meters still far from its spilling level of 190 meters.Magat dam is normally releasing its stored water for irrigation and power generation purposes.

The OCD’s report aims to clear claims that the waters of Pinakanawan and Cagayan Rivers that are causing floods in Ilagan villages did not come from Magat River dam.

However, the OCD advised the residents in low-lying areas to seek higher grounds for evacuation to prevent loss of lives and properties brought about by the floods. # PIA-Isabela