Villagers are evacuated Monday as the rising water of Wangag River threatens to submerge low-lying Barangay Taluro in Gonzaga town, Cagayan province at the height of Severe Tropical Storm “Maring.” (Photo courtesy of Gonzaga MDRRMO)

TUGUEGARAO CITY––At least 207 families in northern Cagayan province were evacuated to safety since Monday night due to flooding caused by Severe Tropical Storm “Maring” (Kompasu), civil defense officials said.

Michael Conag, spokesperson of the Office of Civil Defense in Cagayan Valley, said low-lying villages were submerged in floodwater in this city and Aparri, Buguey, Ballesteros, Calayan, Lallo, Lasam, Baggao, Gattaran, Peñablanca, and Santa Teresita towns.

Overflow bridges in Baggao, Gattaran, Peñablanca, Santa Teresita, Gonzaga, and Tuguegarao City were also flooded.

In Isabela province, overflow bridges were temporarily closed to traffic since Monday evening in anticipation of rising water, said retired Police Brig. Gen. Jimmy Rivera, chief of Isabela disaster risk reduction and management office.#