SOME 8,962 families from 97 barangays in Negros Occidental have left their homes over the weekend due to bad weather caused by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, a report from the provincial Social Welfare and Development Office showed Sunday, October 30, 2022.
State weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecast that Paeng might move northwestward or northwestward Monday, October 31 or Wednesday, November 2, as it exits the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
During its onslaught in Negros Occidental, 1,040 families or about 5,205 individuals from 11 barangays in Calatrava town and another 938 families or 3,684 individuals from eight barangays of San Carlos City were forced to leave their homes.
Similarly, 111 families composed of 295 residents in EB Magalona town; 3,560 or 16,058 residents of Valladolid town’s 11 barangays; 794 families or 2,894 residents from nine barangays of Hinoba-an town have also been displaced.
In Sipalay City, one of the hardest hits by Typhoon Odette in December last year, 457 families or 1,667 individuals from five barangays sought refuge at the evacuation centers at height of Tropical Storm Paeng’s onslaught.
The nearby Cauayan town reported the evacuation of 2,363 individuals from 561 families from seven barangays while 2,626 individuals or 868 families from four barangays in Hinigaran also suffered the same fate.
Other areas where there were evacuations are the cities of Bago, Cadiz Escalante, Kabankalan, Silay and Victorias as well as the towns of Binalbagan, Hinigaran, Isabela, Manapla, Moises Padilla and Toboso.
A laborer in Isabela town drowned when strong water current swept him while traversing the overflow of Crossing Cab-Cab around 7 a.m. on Saturday.
The body of Regie Fernandez, 33, of Sitio Macapalo in the town’s Barangay Riverside, Isabela, Negros Occidental was found at Hacienda Spanya in the town’s Barangay Amin past 10 a.m. Sunday.
Fifteen passengers were also rescued at the seawater off Barangay Molocaboc in Sagay City around 1 p.m. when their motorbanca (small boat) capsized was hit by huge waves.
Investigation showed that the boat left Vito Port past 1 p.m. but while approaching the tower of Molocaboc Island or about 600 meters from the shorelines, the boat capsized
Paeng did not spare even the dead as several public cemeteries in the province were also submerged by floodwater.
Meanwhile, Bacolod City reported zero casualties despite evacuations in Barangays 1, 2, 16, 14, 31, 36, Banago, Pahanocoy, Punta Taytay, Singcang-airport, Sum-ag, Taculing and Tangub.
Fifteen evacuation centers have opened and catered to 2,026 rescued families and individuals from the affected barangays.
The City Social Welfare and Development provided 774 food packs to the affected families.
“Many of the evacuees have already returned to their homes,” Dr. Anna Marie Laarni Pornan, head of the Bacolod Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), said.
While sea trips at the various ports in Negros Occidental have already resumed Sunday several flights in Western Visayas including those that are bound for Bacolod-Silay Airport were still canceled.
As this developed, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said that 669 were damaged houses, 123 of which were totally damaged while 546 were partially damaged in Regions Cordillera Administrative Region, Mimaropa, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and Caraga.
For his part, House Speaker Martin Romualdez called for a comprehensive assessment of the damage and destruction caused by Tropical Storm Paeng in several parts of the country.
There is also a possibility of making adjustments in the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for next year to fund the needs of affected areas, Romualdez said in a statement on Sunday.
He expressed support for the recommendation by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Saturday for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a national state of calamity to better address the effects of the latest storm.
He said reports reaching his office showed that “almost all regions in the country were affected by the onslaught of Paeng, which destroyed bridges, roads and key infrastructure, and wrought havoc to life and property.” (with reports from TDE and PNA)