Bayawan recovering after floods

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — Despite over P100 million worth of losses following massive floods that struck the city and its neighboring towns Sunday, Bayawan City is now "recovering fast with lives going back to normal," a city rescue official said yesterday.

"We are now going back to normal, although there are some depressed areas that still need help," Edilberito Euraoba II, operations officer of the Bayawan City public safety office, told The Freeman.

This was after Mayor German Saraña gave the city a one-day period after the floods to clean up their houses, while local government employees were given a five-day rehabilitation leave to repair and recover their properties,

Euraoba said the mayor "wanted to make it a point for residents to quickly move on with their lives after the big floods."

In a meeting last Thursday, the local government of Bayawan estimated a total of P100 million in damages following the massive floods. "Agricultural damages amounted up to P50 million, commercial damages up to P8 million, fishery damages up to P20 million, and initial infrastructure damages up to P30 million," Euraoba said.

The city however is still under a state of calamity, and there is still no tentative date as to when the declaration will be lifted. Neighboring towns Basay and Sta. Catalina are also under a state of calamity.

Euraoba also expressed thanks to the different rescue units who helped his office last Sunday, like the CERT 125 of the Seventh Day Adventist church and the Silliman University fire rescue team.

Saraña, for his part, has also coordinated with the National Housing Authority (NHA) to give homeless victims P10,000 assistance funds each to rebuild their houses.

The Office of Vice President Jejomar Binay and the Negros Oriental provincial government, under Gov. Roel Degamo, have also provided hundreds of relief goods for flood victims, while private organizations such as the GMA Kapuso Foundation and concerned listeners of local radio stations also did the same, said Euraoba.

"It was the first time we experienced a flood that big, and hopefully we'll be preparing a worst-case scenario plan should a flood like last Sunday happen again," he said.

As of press time, six persons have been confirmed dead, while the three persons who were earlier reported missing have already returned to their homes.