BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The damage to Negros Occidental’s agriculture due to a combination of low pressure area (LPA) and shearline last week reached P30.4 million, according to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA).
Damage to rice fields was estimated at P29 million while that for high-value commercial crops (HVCC) hit P553,000, the OPA reported.
Corn field damage in the province was estimated at P136,000.
Bago City recorded the highest agricultural damage at P13.3 million, followed by Valladolid town at P5.5 million.
Escalante City’s crop damage, meanwhile, was estimated at P3 million, followed by Cadiz City and Cauayan town at P1.9 million each, San Enrique (P1 million), Candoni (P547,475), Silay City (P411,383), and La Carlota City (P411,383).
Meanwhile, 4,476 families or 15,198 persons were displaced by floods, data from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) showed.
The worst-hit localities were in the province’s south, particularly in San Enrique where 7,663 persons from 2,048 families were affected, while 5,795 individuals from 1,924 families were displaced in neighboring Valladolid.
Provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, said rains also triggered landslides in the cities of Sagay, San Carlos and Talisay./PN
