The Magat Dam in Isabela will open six spillway gates by 5 p.m. Friday as relentless rains from Typhoon Paolo continue to swell its reservoir, the National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-MARIIS) announced.
Floodgate releases began at 1 p.m., with one gate being opened every hour until all six are fully raised by late afternoon, releasing water at a cumulative elevation of 12 meters. This is in addition to the three spillway gates opened earlier in the day.
Engr. Edwin Viernes, chief of the dam and reservoir division, said the total volume of water to be discharged would reach 1,761 cubic meters per second.
He warned that floodwaters may rise to half a meter at Buntun Bridge in Tuguegarao City within 20 hours of travel downstream.
Meanwhile, Paolo’s landfall in Dinapigue, Isabela, left a trail of damage across the Cagayan Valley. Uprooted Gmelina trees and toppled signage were reported along major highways, while thousands of sacks of palay and corn left out to dry were soaked, worsening farmers’ losses