Tuguegarao City, Cagayan- The Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No. II conducted its post-geohazard assessment to continuously monitor areas that were flooded brought by Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Maring.

A team of geologists namely: Aina S. Claravall, Jose Santiago Feril and Rea Maye Leslie Mejares together with Officer-In- Charge of CENRO Aparri Joselito Razon, and staff of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Sta. Teresita and Buguey conducted an ocular inspection in the municipalities of Sta. Teresita and Buguey, Cagayan.

Based on the results of the assessment, the municipalities serve as catch basins of all surface water runoffs, creeks, and river from higher elevation since the areas are situated on relatively low-lying areas.  

“Overflowing waters from existing water bodies tend to accumulate within these areas,” Mejares said.

Mejares added that the lack of proper drainage systems is also one of the reasons why rainwater logs in the area.

The drainage systems are too narrow to convey rainwater effectively. “The heavy rainfall causes massive water logging due to the lack of proper drainage system that cannot accommodate a large volume of water,” she said.

As seen in the ocular inspection, the situation also worsened with the presence of numerous obstructions that restricts the flow of water along the natural and man-made drainage lines.

The Buguey Lagoon is also noticeably heavily silted with barrier sand deposits actively forming along that resulted to the formation of bottleneck. This impedes the flow of water directly into the Babuyan Channel.

The 13 barangays of Sta. Teresita and 27 out of 30 barangays of Buguey were inundated by floodwaters during the onslaught of STS Maring.