ILOILO City – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas is keeping an eye on 153 barangays vulnerable to flooding and landslide.
A low pressure area (LPA) is affecting the Visayas.
OCD information officer Cindy Ferrer said member-agencies of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council are on blue alert.
“Although they are not called to report to the EOC (Emergency Operations Center), they are on standby for deployment or reporting,” Ferrer said.
She also alerted travelers for possible cancellation of boat trips.
A gale warning was hoisted over Western Visayas yesterday morning.
The LPA closely followed a shear line in the region where 229 families or 868 individuals from Negros Occidental and Aklan provinces were affected by flooding and strong winds.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported that 60 families were displaced; their houses were damaged by coastal flooding.
They opted to stay with relatives and friends as of 5 p.m. on Dec. 27, according to DSWD’s disaster response operations monitoring and information center (DROMIC) report.
According to Atty. May R. Castillo, DSWD Region 6 information officer, the coastal flooding left 26 houses destroyed and 34 partially damaged.
Also, 212 families were affected in three barangays in Aklan, and 17 from five barangays in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.
All affected families in Negros Occidental were displaced.
Castillo said Regional Director Carmelo N. Nochete assured that the region has placed on standby a total of P47.16 million in funds and food and non-food items for residents affected by the bad weather.
Meantime, the 126 passengers stranded in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental going to Toledo, Cebu due to a gale warning on Tuesday, Dec. 27, were allowed to sail as of 5 a.m. of Wednesday, the OCD said. (PNA)/PN
