BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Hundreds of individuals fled their inundated homes after a heavy downpour triggered flooding in five barangays of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental over the weekend.
Mayor Renato Gustilo said the affected areas were barangays 1, 2, 5, 6, and Rizal.
As of Sunday afternoon, 111 families were still in various evacuation centers, according to a report of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
The affected residents sought shelter at the Ramon Magsaysay Elementary School, Tandang Sora Elementary School, Greenville Elementary School, Medina Elementary School, and in some private establishments.
According to Gustilo, most of the residents were caught off guard. It was the first time that floodwaters entered their houses. Some were trapped inside their homes but were later rescued by CDRRMO personnel.
There were no reported fatalities.
According to Engineer Arthur Batomalaque, senior environmental management specialist of the City Environment Management Office, the heavy downpour and the debris it brought to the city’s waterways, and the bottleneck at some stormwater outlets might have caused the flooding.
“Plastic wastes that usually clog waterways are not the cause of the floods since it has been long addressed by the city. The floodwaters immediately subsided which is a good indication of a non-clogged drainage system,” he added.
Instead, Batomalaque said, the volume of rainwater from the mountains was just too enormous to be contained by the water channels.
Gustilo, for his part, said he will order a reassessment of flood control plans and expand some of waterways in the city./PN
