Magat Dam operators lacked anticipation causing Cagayan floods, says analyst

An analyst from the UP Resilience Institute stated that the operators of Magat Dam exhibited a "lack of anticipation" which led to the severe flooding in Cagayan.

The flooding occurred as the Cagayan River swelled due to heavy rainfall from surrounding provinces, exacerbated by the dam's water release.

Mahar Lagmay, the executive director of the UP Resilience Institute, suggested that dam operators could have utilized the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration's (PAGASA) forecasts to manage water discharge more effectively.

Lagmay indicated that a substantial amount of water discharge could have been released earlier and spread over a longer period, rather than the recorded 6,000 plus cubic meters per second.

Typhoon Ulysses was the cause of the devastating floods, which resulted in at least 9 fatalities in Cagayan and a total of 24 deaths in Cagayan Valley as of Tuesday.