San Simon, Pampanga residents blame dams for flooding

Published November 14, 2020 8:48pm

Residents of San Simon, Pampanga on Saturday blamed dams for the widespread flooding in the area, saying that their operators had failed to preemptively release water before Typhoon Ulysses hit the country.advertisementhttps://540a690f1d5c395bd0c97ed06544be49.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

According to Katrina Son’s report on “24 Oras Weekend,” Infrawatch convenor Terry Ridon said that dams, particularly the Ipo Dam, the Angat Dam, and the Magat Dam, hurriedly released the water during the onslaught of the typhoon.

Ridon said that the dam operators should have planned for a controlled release of the water and opened the gates two to three days in advance.

However, PAGASA said that protocols or a preparatory phase had to be followed before the dams’ gates could be opened.

The agency said that it could initiate the preparatory phase, it was up to dam operators to decide when to release the water. PAGASA added that releasing water at night was also prohibited.

Ridon said that the dam operators should have planned for a controlled release of the water and opened the gates two to three days in advance.

However, PAGASA said that protocols or a preparatory phase had to be followed before the dams’ gates could be opened.

The agency said that it could initiate the preparatory phase, it was up to dam operators to decide when to release the water. PAGASA added that releasing water at night was also prohibited.

Source: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/764145/san-simon-pampanga-residents-blame-dams-for-flooding/story/