Another flood-hit Negros Occidental town declares state of calamity

ALL SAFE This child carried by a firefighter in the town of Valladolid, Negros Occidental, is one of the 29 residents rescued by fire station and disaster response personnel from the flooded village of Barangay Mabini of the town on Sept. 13. —Photo from Valladolid Bureau of Fire Protection

BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines — Another municipality in Negros Occidental was placed under a state calamity due to widespread damage caused by the heavy rains and flooding in all its 16 barangays last week.

The declaration made by the municipal council of Valladolid on Sept. 20 made it the fourth local government in Negros Occidental to be placed under a state of calamity, after La Carlota City and the towns of Hinigaran and San Enrique.

The declaration enabled these local governments to access their respective emergency funds to assist the affected residents.

READ: Days of rains trigger flooding in Negros Occidental; child drowns

Irene Bel Ploteña, Provincial Disaster Management Program Division head, said the recent rains and floods affected 9,255 families with 27,765 members in Valladolid.

At least four houses in the town were destroyed, while 184 others were damaged.

Ploteña said the heavy rains and flooding left P18.8 million in damage to rice crops while the town’s aquaculture and livestock sectors lost P42,000 and P196,694, respectively.

For the whole of Negros Occidental, damage to agriculture was placed at P151.2 million as of Sept. 23, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported.

Damage to rice, high-value commercial crops, and corn were P146,184,459, fisheries—P1,781,361, and livestock—P3,314,151.

Forty-six houses were destroyed, and 989 were damaged for a total of 1,035.

The heavy rain and flooding in Negros Occidental from Sept. 13 to Sept. 17 were caused by the southwest monsoon that was enhanced by successive weather disturbances—Tropical Storms Ferdie (international name: Bebinca) and Helen and Tropical Depression Gener.

Palawan, including the capital Puerto Princesa City, was also badly hit by floods spawned by last week’s torrential rains, displacing some 11,656 people.

At least three towns— Dumaran, Roxas, and San Vicente—were placed in a state of calamity by their respective municipal councils to quickly respond to the needs of displaced residents. The combined damage to these towns was placed at P77.79 million.