Vice President Leni Robredo said that lack of effective communication and information dissemination contributed in the suffering of Cagayan residents from the deadly flooding caused by typhoon Ulysses.

In an interview with ABS-CBN Teleradyo, Robredo said information gap due to the shut-down of the network—including its regional branches—made residents suffer as they were blindsided from lack of data.

“It is important kasi, during crisis situations, iyong effective communication. Lalo na ngayon, wala na iyong regional network ng ABS-CBN na nasa malalayong lugar. Halimbawa sa amin sa Bicol, gaya sa Tuguegarao. Iyon ang inaasahan ng locals na naging source ng information, nawala iyon,” Teleradyo quoted her as saying.

READ ALSO: Cagayan governor: We were prepared but floods worse than anticipated

She stressed that the local government units were also blindsided due to lack of proper information.

Netizens from Cagayan, who cited lack of media coverage as one of the reasons they were looked over at the onset of the typhoon, turned to social media to seek help from the national government as well as other Filipinos—making #CagayanNeedsHelp a trending topic over the weekend.

Earlier, many netizens also said that the shutdown of ABS-CBN affected their preparedness from the deluge brought by Typhoon Rolly—noting that they relied heavily on its regional network for information.

SEE ALSO: #CagayanNeedsHelp trends as netizens appeal for help