MORE than 3,000 families have been affected in various cities and towns in Negros Occidental including the highly-urbanized city of Bacolod due to the inclement weather brought by Typhoon Paeng since yesterday, October 28.
The bad weather also resulted to the cancellation of sea trips going to and from Manila, Cebu and Iloilo at the ports in the cities of Cadiz, San Carlos, Sagay, Escalante and Bacolod.
It affected 491 passengers and halted the travel of 231 cargoes, a report from the Philippine Coast Guard showed.
In San Carlos City, five barangays have been affected by the bad weather forcing 102 families composed of 524 individuals to temporarily seek shelter at the evacuation centers as of 2 p.m. yesterday.
Some 190 families composed of 950 people from nine barangays of Calatrava town fled their homes while 2,589 families or 11,651 individuals from nine barangays of Valladolid town were also displaced.
Hinoba-an town government also reported the evacuation of 16 families or 58 individuals from two barangays while in the northern Negros Occidental town of E.B Magalona, 242 individuals from 90 families in Barangay Santo Nino also left their homes.
One barangay each from Moises Padilla and Bago City were also affected by the bad weather displacing four families of 12 individuals, a report from the Provincial Social Welfare Office showed.
With this, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson ordered that all the local Risk Reduction Management Councils in the province will be placed under “Red Alert” status.
Lacson said this will enable them to closely monitor the situation in the entire province, consolidate reports and boost the coordination among concerned government agencies and stakeholders.
Under the red alert status, he said, preemptive or mandatory evacuation especially in the danger zone areas should be done.
In a typhoon advisory he signed yesterday, the governor noted that some areas in Negros Occidental have been placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signals number 1.
Meanwhile, 503 individuals or 129 families have evacuated in Bacolod City as floodwaters continue to rise, the Public Information Office said.
Dr. Anna Marie Laarni Pornan, head of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), said of 61 barangays, eight barangays were hit by floods due to heavy rains.
These are Barangays 31, 39, Alijis, Punta Taytay, Pahanocoy, Mandalagan, Singcang- Airport, and Banago.
Pornan said the families were transferred to the identified evacuation centers within their barangays and they were also assisted by the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD).
She said most of the affected residents are those living in the river banks, adding that the city government was also distributing food packs to the residents.
Pornan noted that all the barangays DRRMO were also directed to monitor their areas of jurisdiction for the possible evacuation of the affected residents.
For his part, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez issued Executive No. 052 yesterday declaring the suspension of work in the City Government of Bacolod.
“ Ensuring public safety and public health of the citizenry is of paramount importance at this time,” he said.