Visayas
Visayas
Philippine tropical cyclones

Paeng wreaks havoc in Western Visayas, kills at least 2

Marchel P. Espina, Jun Aguirre

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Paeng wreaks havoc in Western Visayas, kills at least 2

SITUATION. A photo of storm-hit Polacion Beach and the market in Sipalay, Negros Occidental on October 29, 2022.

Sipalay MDRRMO

(1st UPDATE) The onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng in Western Visayas floods several areas, forces thousands of families to leave their homes, and delays sea trips of over 1,000 passengers

BACOLOD, Philippines – At least two people were killed in Western Visayas due to the flash floods brought by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, the regional Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said on Saturday, October 29.

Disaster officials also said that 120 flooded areas were reported in Western Visayas, including 79 in Capiz.

More than 1,000 passengers were stranded in Iloilo and Negros Occidental seaports due to the trip cancellations, following a gale warning.

The fatalities were identified as 28-year-old JP Buendia of Tapaz, Capiz and 25-year-old Genevev Nacion of San Joaquin, Iloilo. Both were swept away by strong currents triggered by the flash floods.

There were also reported fatalities in other localities, including Libacao, Aklan and the province of Antique, but the official report has yet to reach the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Western Visayas (RDRRMC-6) as of writing.

Christian Nagaynay, local government capability development division chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in Western Visayas (DILG-6), said they were still verifying the reported deaths from the local authorities, citing protocols involving fatalities and missing persons.

Libacao, Aklan Vice Mayor Vincent Navarossa on Friday, October 28 confirmed that three abaca farmers died when they were caught in flood waters on Thursday, October 27. A report from the office of Governor Jose Enrique M. Miraflores said four persons died in the province, with two others still missing.

The DILG-6 also reported a missing person in Passi City in Iloilo, while the one in Bacolod City has already been found safe.

The RDRRMC-6 reported that 135,025 persons, or 39,217 families from 259 barangays in the region were affected by “Paeng.”

The report also said that 17,167 residents or 4,443 families have been staying at evacuation centers, while 3,577 individuals or 924 families were staying elsewhere.

Trauma

Around the time the RDRRMC was holding its briefing, the local government units of Aklan and Negros Occidental said waters were finally subsiding after three harrowing days due to heavy rain from Paeng’s shear line and trough.

Hours of rain brought water levels up on Saturday morning, sparking new alerts and evacuations in Aklan, Capiz, Antique, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

In Kalibo, Mayor Juris Bautista Sucro showed pictures of residents returning to the fourth floor of the town hall’s evacuation center after the disaster officials issued the highest alert for the Aklan River, which runs through Aklan’s provincial capital.

In Sipalay, residents fled their homes in Barangay Gil Montilla and in the main Poblacion beach and market areas, two of the worst-hit areas during Typhoon Odette in December 2021.

In Sibalom, Antique, a bridge connecting Barangay Pis-anan and Barangay Nagdayao collapsed.

In the tourist island of Boracay, the Malay police evacuated tourists and residents as winds and rain lashed  the western district of Aklan.

Damage

The most-hit province in the region was Capiz, with 68,440 affected individuals or 21,703 families from its 112 villages. 

OCD-6 director Jose Roberto Nuñez said response operations are ongoing as most provinces in the region are still experiencing flooding.

Search and rescue teams were still on ground focusing on providing the needs of the affected families.

Nuñez said they are coordinating with their national counterparts for augmentation, but it has been a challenge because they could not fly out due to the weather disturbance. 

He assured residents that they are exhausting all their efforts to respond to the needs of the affected families. – Rappler.com

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Aklan

Iloilo

LGUs in the Philippines

Negros Occidental

weather disturbances

Western Visayas