Burnham boats from Baguio City were sent to flooded areas in Cagayan to augment the authorities’ rescue efforts.
Vivian Celso, one of the boat owners at Burnham Park lake, lent his boats for the search, rescue, and relief mission of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) and the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Cordillera’s “Oplan Tulong Cagayan.”
The Burnham boats are rigid hull and are made out of fiberglass, making it suitable for navigating flooded areas where debris like G.I. sheet roofs could puncture rubber boats, Celso said.
According to Colonel Allen Rae Co, BCPO city director, four pontoon boats and swan boats would be sent to Cagayan. He added the Burnham boats might be the closest floating device for a rescue boat for the flooded region.
The boat owner said that if the boats could save a life, it is a worthy cause, Co added.
Celso lent BCPO four pontoon boats that could transport 10 people, enough for the Water Search and Rescue (Wasar) team of PRO-Cordillera.
However, limited logistics only allowed two pontoon boats and the pedal-powered swan boat to be transported.
The BCPO team and the PRO-Cordillera Wasar team are now on their way to meet up in Tabuk City, Kalinga en route to Cagayan.
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Baguio sends Burnham boats to Cagayan
In the previous weeks, three strong storms battered Luzon, killing dozens of individuals and destroying thousands of homes.
Typhoon Quinta arrived in the last week of October and left three people dead in Negros Oriental and Marinduque.
Super typhoon Rolly, the world’s strongest typhoon for 2020, hit the Bicol region and left Catanduanes isolated. It also affected over two over two million people from Regions I, II, III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the National Capital Region. Rolly left 25 people dead and injured 300 others.
The latest powerful typhoon, Ulysses, claimed the lives of 67 as of Monday morning, while wounded victims are 21. The NDRRMC said 13 people are still missing.
Ulysses also triggered the “worst” flooding in Cagayan in 40 years.