Severe flooding hits Samar, Panay islands

WAITING FOR RESCUE Residents of Lope de Vega in Northern Samar wait for rescuers on Tuesday amid a flood that inundated houses due to incessant rains spawned by a low pressure area and shear line since Sunday. —PETER PAREDES/contributor

TACLOBAN CITY—More than 63,000 families (318,946 people) were displaced as heavy and nonstop rains spawned by a low pressure area and shear line, an area where cold and warm air meet, triggered severe floods on Samar and Panay islands.

At least 45,450 families (208,706 people) were now sheltered in Northern Samar while 16,456 other families (61,111 people) were affected in Eastern Samar as of Tuesday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported.

Some 15,464 families composed of 49,129 people also bore the brunt of the weather disturbance in the provinces of Capiz and Aklan on Panay Island.

The Northern Samar provincial board, in a special session on Tuesday afternoon, placed the province under a state of calamity to speed up the release of assistance to affected residents, said Rei Josiah Echano, the provincial disaster risk reduction management officer.

Power supply had been cut in the entire province since Monday. The Northern Samar Electric Cooperative, in a statement, said it is doing everything to restore electricity in the province.

Classes remained suspended in the province though work in the government offices resumed on Tuesday.

READ: MMDA deploys team to help residents in flooded areas in Samar

READ: Flood-hit Eastern Samar declares state of calamity

Unprecedented

In Catarman, the provincial capital and the worst-hit area where water rose by over a meter, 269 families (1,263 people) had to be rescued Monday after water inundated their homes in the villages of Bangkerohan, Cal-iga, Casoy, Narra, UEP Zone 3 and Yakal.

Rachel Arnaiz, Catarman’s municipal information officer, said the number was expected to rise with more areas in the town remained flooded, affecting the rescue operations by the town’s disaster risk reduction management office (DRMMO), the police, soldiers, members of the Bureau of Fire and Philippine Coast Guard and volunteers.

“This is the worst flooding in Catarman in almost five decades,” Arnaiz said.

In several instances in Catarman and the other affected towns, floodwaters submerged houses with some victims staying on their roofs, waiting to be rescued, said Peter Paredes, a resident of Lavezares town.

Massive flooding was also reported in the municipalities of Catubig, Gamay, Lapinig, Las Navas, Lope de Vega, Mondragon, Pambujan, Rosario, San Roque and Victoria. In Eastern Samar, the town of Jipapad was placed under a state of calamity on Tuesday, as all of its 13 barangays were submerged in floodwater. The province’s towns of Arteche, Can-avid, Dolores, Maslog, Oras, Sulat and San Julian were also flooded.

In Capiz and Aklan, heavy rains and floods experienced since Sunday displaced 15,464 families (49,129 people), according to the Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the low pressure area and shear line experienced since Monday would continue to bring heavy rains in Southern Luzon and Visayas until Wednesday. INQ