ILOILO CITY – Significant rains due to shear line caused flooding in Capiz and Aklan, affecting 15,464 families or 49,129 individuals in the two provinces, according to a report released by the Office of the Civil Defense Western Visayas (OCD 6) on Tuesday.
“We are also waiting for reports from Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Antique because they also have rainfall warning, and we also have recorded heavy rainfall,” OCD 6 information officer Cindy Ferrer said in an interview.
Aklan has 620 affected families, while Capiz has 14,844 families.
Ferrer said of the affected families, 260, or 816 individuals were in evacuation centers, while the rest with their relatives or outside of the shelters.
“They are affected in the sense that they experienced flooding or their houses are damaged. We also consider the effect on their rice fields and properties and not necessarily displaced,” she added.
Capiz, Aklan, and portions of northern Iloilo are among the areas affected during the change in weather pattern from southeast monsoon or “habagat” to northeast monsoon or “amihan", Ferrer said.
As of 8 a.m. on Tuesday, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) listed 129 barangays susceptible to flooding, most of them in Capiz with 92, Aklan with 30, and Antique, seven.
Ferrer said all local disaster risk reduction and management offices in the region were ready with the contingencies, and their quick response teams on alert for deployment.
She also advised those in low-lying areas to remain vigilant and move to evacuation centers when needed. (PNA)