The series of bad weather conditions spanning almost two weeks caused damage to several flood control projects and crops in several provinces in Western Visayas.
Office of Civil Defense Western Visayas spokesperson Maria Christina Mayor said based on available data, agriculture losses in Antique, Iloilo and Guimaras have reached over P1.72 million.
She said the affected crops included rice in Iloilo and high-value crops in Antique and Guimaras.
“We expect the number to increase, considering that Capiz and Aklan have yet to submit their report on the damage to agriculture,” she said in an interview on Monday, Sept. 29.
Meanwhile, damage to infrastructure, including flood control projects and revetment, has reached more than P43.77 million in Iloilo and Antique alone.
Iloilo recorded close to P38 million in damage after portions of the Aganan flood control project along Barangays Balabag and Amparo in Pavia town eroded.
Antique has almost P6 million, following the damage of the approach of the bridge and the revetment along the river in Barangay Bacalan in Sebaste town; as well as the collapse of the portion of the revetment along Bacong River in Barangay Camansijan in Culasi.
“Most of those damaged were saturated by water, causing our revetments and riverbanks to erode. The strong floodwater carrying big debris also resulted in damage to the flood control projects,” Mayor said.
She added that the damage was not due to Typhoon Opong alone, but because of the soil saturation due to heavy rains starting with Typhoon Mirasol.
Mayor said they expect the cost of damage to increase, especially once the concerned agencies complete their assessment.
“Other damage to infrastructure was not apparent, so it was not immediately reported,” she said.
The series of inclement weather conditions affected 1,482 barangays in Western Visayas, affecting 129,345 families, equivalent to 461,412 individuals.
“When we say affected, it’s not necessarily that they are in evacuation centers or displaced, but they experienced flooding, their houses were damaged, so they were affected in any way,” she said.
Of the affected population, 2,531 families or 8,702 individuals are inside evacuation centers as of Sunday evening; and 13,520 families or 55,638 persons are outside evacuation centers, staying with their relatives, friends, or some even in hotels.
Mayor said the series of inclement weather conditions has a huge impact on agriculture and infrastructure, but one good thing is that there was only one casualty.
She said almost all local government units heeded the call of Civil Defense Regional Director and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chair Raul Fernandez to conduct preemptive evacuation.PNA
