TYPHOON Tino wreaked havoc across Cebu, leaving homes, businesses, and vehicles submerged in devastating floodwaters.
However, the powerful floods did more than destroy homes and possessions; they shattered lives, leaving families engulfed in grief and trauma after the loss of their loved ones to the unforgiving currents.
Barangay Bacayan in Cebu City was one of the hardest-hit barangays resulting in the death of at least 12 people, including one child as young as 1 year old. At least four others remained missing in the village as of Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.
Among the fatalities was 72-year-old Maria Mencena Narvasa, whose daughter, Charlene Cate, mourns her tragic loss to the storm.
Cate told SunStar Cebu that her family had been searching for her mother’s body after the typhoon.
Narvasa, who lived in a separate house, was found in Sitio Hidden View 2 in Bacayan a day later, on Wednesday.
Tears streamed down Cate’s face as she recalled how she was unable to save her mother when the waters of Butuanon River rose to head level.
Cate shared that she had been attending to her toddler grandchildren at the time and couldn’t return to rescue her mother even as the floodwaters surged rapidly by 3 a.m.
Narvasa was the oldest reported fatality in Barangay Bacayan.
A wake for the 12 fatalities will be held at the Bacayan Sports Complex.
A Mother’s Love
A mother’s love defies all odds.
Ivy Michelle Actoy, 26, braved waist-deep floodwaters in Sitio Lower Common in Barangay Bacayan to save herself and her two young children.
Actoy told SunStar Cebu that she considers surviving the ordeal as her “second life.”
She recalled that she was with her two sons, one four months old and the other four years old, when the floodwaters began to rise.
She did not expect the water to seep into her younger sibling’s concrete house, where they had sought refuge amid the storm.
With the waters rapidly rising, they found themselves trapped. Actoy shared that in those tense minutes, her mind was racing, unsure if they would make it out alive.
She left a message for her husband, who works in Saudi Arabia, telling him that she and their children loved him, uncertain if those would be her
last words.
Actoy is among the over 400 families taking shelter in one of Cebu City’s evacuation centers, Bacayan Elementary School.
The heavy waters also washed away the home of a family of three in Sitio Upper Common as the Butuanon River’s strong current rose rapidly at the height of the storm.
Jeboy Arcillas, along with his mother and father, woke up to see water penetrating their floor.
As the water continued to rise, Arcillas and his father rushed to secure their motorcycles, wading through the knee-deep floodwaters outside.
About 10 to 15 minutes later, the floods had reached neck level, leaving them with no choice but to evacuate to higher grounds.
When the floods subsided, they returned home only to see that they were left with nothing.
“Makaguol...Balik gyud sa uno (It’s very sad. We’re back to square one),” said Arcillas — their house completely gone, swept away by the surging waters. / DPC