Rainwater washed down from the surrounding Cordillera, Caraballo and Sierra Madre mountains triggered "unprecedented" floods in the Cagayan Valley, its governor said Saturday, as millions of #CagayanNeedsHelp posts dominated social media.
Twenty-four of Cagayan's 28 municipalities and one city are flooded, said Gov. Manuel Mamba. Water release from Magat Dam added to the inundation, he said. The province was not directly hit by Typhoon Ulysses, but it brought torrential rains to surrounding highlands.
At around 11 a.m. there were 2.66 million Twitter posts with the hashtag #CagayanNeedsHelp
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"Ito po grabe yung height, yung depth ng flooding... I think we have experienced the worst yet na pwedeng tumama sa amin," Mamba told TeleRadyo. "Talagang catch basin ang ruong region."
At least nine people were reported killed, four from landslides, two from drowning and three from electrocution, he said.
"Nagwoworsen yung height dahil sa heavy siltation ng Cagayan river... Ito ang dulot ng pag-abuso sa kalikasan," Mamba said, citing illegal logging in the past.
"I hope that the experiences, suffering we are going through now will teach us lessons already. Stop na po itong pagsalaula sa kalikasan," he said.