Dumaguete flood victims defy hazards, rebuild homes beside river

DUMAGUETE CITY— Barely a week after they were displaced by flashfloods spawned by Tropical Storm “Sendong,” dwellers have returned to where their shanties once stood beside a river here and started rebuilding.

By Friday, two houses were already standing in the same spot along the Banica River dike, where six hovels were swept by rampaging waters in Barangay 8 last December 16.

“They rebuilt their huts right away, fearing they would be prevented from returning to the area,” a man who refused to be identified told the INQUIRER.

Mud and garbage still abound in this riverside community that was totally inundated when a two-story-high wall of water rushed down from the mountains, sweeping everything in its path.

Luckily for this community, there were no casualties.

“We warned our neighbors of the potential danger and I stayed up all night that Friday to watch for floods in the river,” said Nida Dagoy, 36, a barangay tanod (village watchman). By morning, some residents headed for higher ground.

Dagoy, whose hut was one of the six washed away, said she was standing on the river dike Saturday morning when she noticed that the water was swirling.

“The next thing I saw was this wall of water. I and the other people standing on the dike jumped to safety,” Dagoy said, adding that she fled with only the clothes on her back.

In the storm’s aftermath, Dagoy was assigned to cook for the flood victims in a makeshift kitchen beside the village hall.

“Our kitchen is open to anyone who wants to eat,” she said of the place where most of the diners were the men rebuilding their homes.

The residents also got visits from city health personnel, who gave tetanus shots for those who suffered cuts.

For Dagoy, the tragedy has brought them closer as a community. “We help one another like we always do as the task of rebuilding our community will take a long time.”

The death toll throughout Negros Oriental stood at 37 with 5 still missing and 12,260 families affected.

The storm destroyed 1,036 houses and damaged 3,309 others.

Damage to infrastructure rose to P694.4 million.

Apart from this city, Sendong also affected Tanjay and the towns of Amlan, Bacong, Mabinay, Pamplona, San Jose, Sibulan, Valencia and Siaton.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said around P9.8 million was given for efforts to assist the victims.

Rep. George Arnaiz (Negros Or. 2nd district) said thousands of people in Dumaguete and the towns of Sibulan, Tanjay and Valencia have lost their houses and most of their possessions.

Arnaiz said Valencia was the worst-hit with 15 dead.

Roads, especially those leading to the geothermal plant that supplies power to Negros and Panay, were rendered impassable.

He said there was not much illegal logging in Valencia, but the neighboring areas of Sta. Catalina, Siaton and Sibulan were already denuded that when rains hit hard, there is hardly any forest cover to absorb the water cascading down to Valencia. With a report from Carla Gomez