Hundreds evacuated as monsoon rains trigger flooding in southern Palawan

A section of the national highway in Barangay Barong-barong, Brooke’s Point town, Palawan province is submerged in floodwater due to incessant monsoon rains on Monday (Dec. 26) afternoon. (Contributed photo)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — Several towns in the southern part of Palawan province have been experiencing moderate to heavy rains brought by the northeast monsoon, triggering widespread flooding and displacing hundreds of families, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said Monday, Dec. 26.

According to the latest situational report released by the PDDRMO, low-lying areas in the towns of Bataraza and Brooke’s Point were submerged in floodwater, forcing residents to flee to evacuation centers.

In Bataraza, 151 families, or 755 individuals, were temporarily seeking shelter in an evacuation center, while 85 families, or 261 individuals, were scattered in three other evacuation centers.

The PDRRMO also reported that a house was damaged and two others were destroyed in Brooke’s Point, while 142 houses were damaged and 28 more were destroyed in Bataraza.

Four boats were also destroyed in Brooke’s Point, and 19 others were damaged in Bataraza due to high tides and strong winds.

Four hectares of rice fields were also inundated in Bataraza’s Barangay Culandanum.

Residents also reported that 50 houses in the coastal areas of Sitio Tagdalungon and Marabajay in Barangay Rio Tuba, also in Bataraza, were destroyed at around 3 a.m. on Monday following the heavy rains and strong winds at midnight.

A resident whose house was destroyed said they were not able to save anything from their house.

“We were not able to save even our piggy bank and other important documents,” she said.

In this city, 63 families consisting of 226 individuals from the coastal area of Barangay Bancao-bancao were also evacuated by local rescue workers because of high tide and big waves that reached their houses past midnight on Monday.

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