Negros Occidental flood toll: 2 dead, nearly 9K families affected

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — Floods due to heavy rains in Negros Occidental since Tuesday killed two Negrenses, affected 8,976 families, stalled traffic for several hours, and destroyed houses and crops, officials said.

Heavily affected were the cities of Bacolod, Talisay, Silay and Victorias, and the town of E. B. Magalona, a report from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) showed.

In Bacolod, where floodwaters rose in eight barangays, Amelyn Logronio, 9, of Brgy. Villamonte drowned to death in a river at the height of heavy rains. In E. B. Magalona, where seven barangays were affected, Jose Anonas, 43, of Barangay San Jose, drowned near his house after he was electrocuted while recharging his flashlight. His body was found by his son at about 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The floods, made worse by high tide, also stalled vehicles as bridges in Silay and Talisay cities became impassable due to rising floodwaters.

In Silay City, floods rose from knee-deep to neck-deep in Brgys. Rizal, E. Lopez, Mambulac, Balaring, Guinhalaran, Lantad, and Hawaiian. Nine houses were totally damaged and three houses were partially damaged, the report added.

In Victorias City, affected barangays were 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 17, 18, 18-A, 19 and 19-A. Evacuees have started returning to their respective houses when the floodwaters subsided yesterday. Six houses were totally damaged and eight houses were partially damaged.

In Talisay City, the affected barangays were Zones 3, 4, 10, 12, 12-A, 14-A and 14-B. Some families were still in evacuation centers. Two houses were totally damaged.

In E.B. Magalona, affected were Brgys. 1, 2, 3, Santo Nino, San Jose, Tabigue, and Damgo. About 16 families have earlier been evacuated in the gymnasiums of Brgy. San Jose and Hda. Tinihaban.

PSWD officer Liane Garcia said the respective local governments of the affected towns and cities have already given food and medical assistance to their constituents.

The provincial government, on the other hand, had given food assistance yesterday. A total of 40 sacks of rice, 20 boxes of sardines, and 20 boxes of noodles were distributed to four LGUs, Garcia said.

Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., for his part, said he will order a dredging activity in all major rivers and waterways in the province to lessen possibility of floods in the future.

Provincial administrator Enrique Pinongan noted that shelters, some of them concrete houses built under the bridge, contributed to the clogging of waterways and therefore worsened the floods.

He said the provincial government will soon start dredging main rivers like Malogo in Victorias City, Matagoy in Silay City, and Minuluan in Talisay City or all in the 3rd district that was hit the worst by floods.  (FREEMAN)