Water release mulled for dams along Santi's path

A day before Typhoon "Santi" (Mirinae) is forecast to make landfall, weather forecasters are studying the possibility of recommending yet another round of water release in major dams in Luzon. "Titignan pa namin kung kailangan pang ibaba ang water level lalo na ang dams na maaaring daanaan ni Santi," said Nathaniel Cruz, chief of the weather sciences bureau. Cruz said the dams that could end up collecting volumes of water from Santi's rains include the San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, Angat Dam in Bulacan, and Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija. In its latest advisory, weather forecasters said Santi was spotted 890 km east of Casiguran, Aurora moving at a speed of 24 kph. Forecasts from several weather services all show Santi hitting central Luzon and exiting through eastern Luzon to the South Chine Sea.
"Kung kailangan magpalabas na ng tubig in advance paguusapan iyon (We will have to decide if there is a need to release water)," Cruz said in a press conference. Based on the 10 a.m. monitoring of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services (Pagasa), only the Ambuklao Dam remains discharging water. The Ambuklao dam is currently storing 740.57 meters, still below the 752-meter spilling level. Dams usually release water ahead of a typhoon's arrival to accommodate the volume of water that weather disturbances are expected to bring.

Cruz also said they are closely monitoring weather activities happening near Santi, adding a cloud formation near it could intensify into a weather disturbance. "May cloud development sa likod ni Santi pero hindi pa siya low-pressure area... binabanatayan namin iyan kasi baka maging bagyo iyan," Cruz said. - GMANews.TV