ILOILO – Still reeling from the devastation left by Tropical Storm “Paeng”, the country is bracing for yet another weather disturbance to be called “Queenie” when it enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
Weather specialist Ferdinand Rubin of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)-Iloilo said the tropical depression may enter the PAR either today or tomorrow, Nov. 1.
This will either be the fifth tropical cyclone for the month of October or the first storm in November. It will also be the 17th tropical cyclone to enter the country this year.
As of 10 a.m. on Sunday, the state weather bureau said the new tropical depression is estimated at 1,250 kilometers (km) east of Northeastern Mindanao and was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 km per hour (km/h) to 55 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 55 km/h.
Meanwhile, according to Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) and Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas spokesperson Cindy Ferrer, the whole region will remain on “red alert” status until the situation normalizes.
DEATHS DUE TO ‘PAENG’
As of 5 p.m. on Oct. 30, there were 10 confirmed deaths and another nine deaths for validation in Western Visayas.
The RDDRMC-6 – Emergency Operations Center (EOC), through the Management of the Dead and the Missing (MDM) Cluster headed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), reported 10 confirmed deaths and two missing persons.
However, aside from the confirmed deaths, there are also nine deaths from the list of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 that are still up for validation.
The 10 confirmed casualties are the following:
* 28-year-old male – died due to flashflood in Barangay San Roque, Tapaz, Capiz
* 25-year-old female – carried away by strong current of flood in Barangay Guibongon, Bayunan, San Joaquin, Iloilo
* 57-year-old male – drowning and suffocation in mud in Barangay Dalagsaan, Libacao, Aklan
* 52-year-old male – drowning and suffocation in mud in Barangay Loctuga, Libacao, Aklan
* 40-year-old male – drowning in Barangay Loctuga, Libacao, Aklan
* 28-year-old female – drowning and suffocation in mud in Barangay Loctuga, Libacao, Aklan
* 31-year-old male – drowning and suffocation in mud in Barangay Loctuga, Libacao, Aklan
* 67-year-old male – carried away by strong current of flood in Barangay Nagdayao, Sibalom, Antique
* 61-year-old male – cardiac arrest/hypothermia in Barangay Iglanot, Sibalom, Antique
* 33-year-old male – drowning in Barangay Piape I, Hamtic, Antique
Aside from the confirmed deaths, the EOC also logged two missing persons due to the typhoon – a 29-year-old female in Barangay Alimono, Passi City, Iloilo (with local government unit report) and a 60-year-old male in Sitio Omlit, Libacao, Aklan (with Municipal Local Government Operations Office special report).
The PRO-6 also reported three missing persons and one injured due to the typhoon.
Meantime, a person died after he got trapped inside a car swept away by floodwaters in Barangay Jalaud Norte, Zarraga, Iloilo around 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 30.
The victim was Roger Caro, 50, of Barangay Bololacao, New Lucena town. Caro was with his cousin Elmer Lascano, who was driving the car. Lascano was able to get out of the car and survived.
AFFECTED POPULATION, FLOODED AREAS
Region 6 logged a total of 145,743 displaced families composed of 558,849 individuals from 881 barangays.
Here is the breakdown of the affected population per province:
* Aklan – 10 municipalities with 88 barangays, 34,612 families or 125,053 persons
* Antique – 15 municipalities with 143 barangays, 7,567 families or 29,814 persons
* Capiz – 16 municipalities with 186 barangays, 54,230 families or 207,568 persons
* Guimaras – two municipalities with six barangays, 53 families or 202 persons
* Iloilo city and province – 36 barangays in Iloilo City and 29 municipalities in Iloilo, 41,857 families or 164,128 persons
* Negros Occidental and Bacolod City – 18 municipalities in Negros Occidental and 100 barangays in Bacolod City, 7,424 families or 32,084 persons
As of Oct. 29, a total of 14,676 displaced families composed of 55,331 persons were taking shelter at 553 evacuation centers across the region.
Based on the reports of provincial disaster risk reduction and management offices (DRMMOs), there were a total of 173 barangays that were flooded while there were barangays with reported landslide incidents particularly in three barangays in Aklan, one barangay in Antique, and four barangays in Negros Occidental.
So far, the provinces of Aklan and Capiz have already declared state of calamity.
355 DAMAGED HOUSES, P33.5-M AGRI DAMAGE
As validated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, 355 houses in the region were damaged – 328 partially and 27 totally.
As to the damage to agriculture, the Department of Agriculture reported 1.6 metric tons of various crops damaged with estimated cost of P33.5 million.
Meanwhile, most of the sea trips, except trips from Semirara, Caluya, Libertad, and Culasi in Antique to Occidental/Oriental Mindoro, have already resumed.
There were also no more recorded stranded passengers as per report from the Philippine Coast Guard-Western Visayas as of writing./PN
