BACOLOD City – More than 600 houses were either damaged or destroyed in Negros Occidental by the southwest monsoon or habagat enhanced by Typhoon “Egay.”
A total of 24 houses were destroyed while 622 suffered extensive damage due to flood, heavy rains and strong winds, said Irene Bel Ploteña, head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division (PDMPD).
Also, 479 families or 1,764 individuals were still staying in various evacuation centers in the towns of Pontevedra, San Enrique, Hinoba-an, Valladolid, Pulupandan, Cauayan, Isabela, Murcia, and the cities of Sipalay, Silay, and Cadiz as of yesterday.
Ploteña added that several Hinoba-an town residents were evacuated due to soil erosion.
The PDMPD head also confirmed two fatalities due to inclement weather: one each from Murcia and Hinigaran.
On Wednesday, July 26, the Philippine Coast Guard recovered the remains of Arnold Billojan, a resident of Barangay Aranda, Hinigaran.
Billojan went missing on Tuesday shortly after attending a friend’s birthday party, according to Lieutenant Junior Grade Carla Mayang, commander of Coast Guard Station Southern Negros Occidental.
He was found floating around 50 meters off the coast by a local fisherman.
In Murcia, residents of Purok Mary in Barangay Canlandog also found the remains of 19-year-old Richard Espinosa, a resident of Purok Monarch, floating at the river around 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
Police Major Marc Joeil Reclamado, Murcia municipal police chief, said Espinosa was believed to have accidentally fallen into the river while trying to lead his carabao to a safer spot.
As of yesterday, Ploteña said they were still monitoring all water tributaries and rivers in the province, although water levels have already subsided to normal level.
She added that rains could still be experienced in some parts of the province until today. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
