Probe into floods sought

CEBU, Philippines - A Capitol official is calling for an investigation into the massive flooding in Carmen town and Danao City that led to the death of nine people at the height of tropical depression Crising.

Board Member Miguel Antonio Magpale said that based on initial reports, new structures by the river may have contributed to the flooding, including a concrete wall reportedly collapsing into the river.

Magpale represents Fifth District at the Provincial Board, which covers Carmen and Danao City.

"Medyo alarmed kami because in recent years, we have faced a lot of floods, but kani siya, first time nga maraming namatay," said Magpale.

"Of course we need the help of science to analyze what happened. Was there an environmental impact na nahitabo didto sa taas? Was there some kind of logging or mining na nakapalihok sa yuta or was it just a natural occurrence that we need to face?" he added.

Yesterday morning, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office sent a team to conduct clearing and assessment in both Carmen and Danao City.

They also cleared upland roads reported to have been impassable because of the mud brought about by the flood waters.

Magpale said that in Danao alone, 300 families were affected by the flooding while 73 houses were either destroyed or damaged by the flash floods. No data yet is available as to the number of families affected in Carmen.

Magpale said the Office of the Vice President has asked data from Capitol so it can provide assistance to the families affected.

Calamity

Carmen town has been placed under a state of calamity.

Eight of the nine reported fatalities were from Carmen and one from Danao City.

Rodger Suico, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in Carmen, said the town can now utilize the P6 million disaster funds to help the affected families.

The bereaved families of the nine flood victims will each receive P10,000 burial aid and relief goods, including one sack of rice and canned goods from the Cebu provincial government.

The Capitol through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has distributed 10 big tents to more than 200 displaced families in Carmen town following the heavy downpour on Easter Sunday.

Each tent can accommodate up to five families.

The affected families are temporarily taking shelter at the town’s crisis center.

Aside from the tents, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office in partnership with the Carmen’s social welfare office also distributed bags of rice to the displaced families.

Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, a native Danao City, said the deaths in the town were the first in recent history.

“First time nga grabe gyod. Di man mo-overflow ang river. Wa gyod mi mag-expect nga mao to ang mahitabo,” Magpale said.

Suico said they did not implement a preventive evacuation because the province was not placed under public storm signal warning number 1.

The heavy rain, which lasted more than three hours, was caused by the Tropical Depression "Crising," which weakened into a low pressure area on Saturday evening after making landfall in Samar Island.

Suico said most of the affected families in Carmen are living beyond the 20-meter easement of the waterway.

In Carmen town alone, at least 670 individuals have been displaced by Sunday’s flooding. Some of them have already returned to their homes after the floodwaters subsided.

Aid

So far, food packs have been distributed to the families as immediate aid to survivors of the floods.

 Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD) -7 has also extended assistance to the affected families in Carmen.

DSWD-7 information officer Kerwin Macopia told The FREEMAN the agency distributed at least 250 sleeping kits and 250 sets of brand new clothing to the flood survivors last Sunday night.

He said the immediate aid to Barangays Luyang, Dawis Norte, and Dawis Sur was in response to the request of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office in Carmen town.

Tornado

There were reports of a tornado cited in the area but PAGASA -Cebu could not confirm the same.

PAGASA-Cebu officer-in-charge Alfredo Quiblat, Jr. said there is no equipment at present that could provide enough information that could verify or detect the occurrence of a tornado clearly.

Ramero Ungtod, officer-in-charge and agricultural technologist of Carmen, said the information came from residents in Barangay Ipil.

"Basi sa interview sa storya sa mga tawo, daghan nga buhawi ang niigo, dili kay usa ra. Naa tay off-duty nga policeman nga nagpuyo sa ibabaw, nasinati gyod nila nga buhawi gyud siya… di man siya ordinaryo nga tubig kay kadaghan nami naka-suway'g uwan og pipila ka adlaw di man gyud ingunato ang tubig," he said.

Quiblat said, nevertheless, that large scale weather systems like tropical cyclones or Low Pressure Area can produce tornadoes within its reach. — Dale G. Israel, May B. Miasco, Kristine B. Quintas, and Christell Fatima R. Tudtud (FREEMAN)