ILOILO City – The flooding experienced in this southern city on Tuesday, Aug. 29, was the most severe since Typhoon “Frank” (international name: “Fengshen”) battered and flooded the city in 2008, according to Mayor Jerry P. Treñas.
“Frank” hit Western Visayas including Iloilo City on June 21, 2008. It brought incessant rains that caused massive flooding in large swathes of Panay Island. In Iloilo province, 59 were reported killed and 40 missing. In Iloilo City, thousands of people were forced onto rooftops.
The recent flooding brought by the southwest monsoon or habagat enhanced by Typhoon “Goring” inundated 90 of the 180 barangays in the city, data from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) showed. These included 13 barangays in the City Proper, 16 in Mandurriao, 12 in Arevalo, five in Lapuz, 10 in Molo, 24 in Jaro 24, and 10 in La Paz.
CDRRMO data also showed that 6,072 families composed of 23,260 individuals from 58 barangays were displaced.
“The last time this happened, it was during the onslaught of Typhoon ‘Frank.’ Fortunately, we are prepared for this. Immediate actions were taken to assist affected families,” Treñas said.
Relative to this, the city mayor asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), and the academic community as well as other experts to sit down with the local government units in Iloilo on the recent floods brought about by the strong rains.
“We should study the situation seriously so that we can prevent similar occurrences in the future. Projects of the DPWH in the future should be able to prevent the same to preclude damage to property and worst loss of lives,” Treñas stressed.
The city mayor further emphasized the need to intensify the efforts for tree planting, conversion to renewable energy, bigger drainage systems, more pumping stations and cisterns, more rain water harvesting facilities, and other measures.Meanwhile, based on the data released by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC), as of 11 a.m. yesterday, a total of 42,859 families composed of 150,965 individuals from 483 barangays from the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental were affected by the typhoon-enhanced habagat.
Of the number, 8,442 families or 30,844 persons were served inside 310 evacuation centers and 2,211 families or 8,678 persons were served outside evacuation centers.
The inclement weather also damaged 88 houses – 62 partially damaged and 26 totally damaged – in Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental.
Meantime, a child from Valderrama, Antique was reported missing after she and her father attempted to traverse the river. The child was suddenly swept away by the strong current of floodwaters.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development and various local government units and non-government organizations have released and distributed a total of P6.2 million worth of food and non-food assistance to those affected by the inclement weather./PN
