ILOILO City – Nearly 50,000 individuals in Western Visayas have been affected by the inclement weather due to the shear line.
Some 15,464 families, or 49,129 individuals, from 51 barangays in the provinces of Aklan and Capiz reported being affected by the floods as of 11 p.m. on Nov. 20, according to the initial report released by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Region 6.
“Of which, 260 families, or 816 persons, were served inside 10 evacuation centers and 334 families, or 1,586 individuals, were served outside evacuation centers,” the OCD-6 said.
In Aklan, 620 families, or 2,400 individuals, from 14 barangays were affected, while 14,844 families, or 46,729 individuals, from 37 barangays in Capiz were hit.
Eight barangay roads became impassable in the municipalities of Sigma and Panit-an in Capiz, and one house was partially damaged in Altavas, Aklan.
The OCD-6 also received reports on flooded rice fields and classes and work suspensions in the two provinces.
As of 8 a.m. yesterday, 129 barangays in the region were susceptible to landslides and floods, data from Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Region 6 showed.
These 129 barangays are from Aklan (30), Capiz (92) and Antique (seven).
Melissa Banias, chief of the Operations Section at OCD-6, earlier said these numbers might change with MGB-6’s updates based on the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) forecasts.
Around 2 a.m. on Nov. 19, 198 barangays in the region were susceptible to flooding and landslides — higher than the latest figure provided by the MGB-6.
These barangays are from the provinces of Aklan (159), Capiz (five), Negros Occidental (20), and Antique (14).
In an interview with Banias, she clarified that there was no typhoon in the Philippine area of responsibility as of this writing. Rains in some parts of the country, such as Region 6, were brought by the shear line, northeast monsoon or amihan and track of the two low pressure areas.
“With these weather disturbances, we just want to continue to advise our constituents, particularly the public located along the low-lying areas kag sa mga areas susceptible to landslides and floods, nga always i-monitor ang ila areas of responsibility and always gid kita mag-check sang weather updates,” she reminded.
As frontline responders, local government units (LGUs) and barangay officials have been instructed to use MGB-6 maps to identify hazard-prone areas.
“We urge them to stay alert to the risks and initiate preemptive evacuations if necessary,” Banias added.
Banias also reminded the public to heed advisories from LGUs and government agencies./PN
