5 killed, thousands distressed by bad weather

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Saturday said five were killed due to severe weather conditions caused by a shear line, the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and the northeast monsoon that began before Christmas.

Diego Agustin Mariano, head of the OCD Joint Information Center, said three were confirmed dead in Palawan, one in Eastern Samar, and one in Davao Occidental who all died due to drowning.

READ: ‘Amihan,’ shear line will still bring rains over parts of Luzon – Pagasa

In its latest bulletin, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 20 were injured and two have remained missing.

According to the NDRRMC, 436,164 individuals, or 139,000 families, have been affected by the weather disturbances.

It said 549 families, or 2,366 individuals, were in 29 evacuation centers across the country.

At least 1,092 houses were damaged in Eastern Visayas and Davao Region, including 394 houses that were totally destroyed and 698 that were partially damaged.

The damage to infrastructure in Davao Region alone was estimated at P215.7 million.

Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, OCD administrator, has issued a memorandum to all regional directors calling for the urgent need for enhanced disaster preparedness and anticipatory actions.

The OCD has warned the public of a “destructive” shear line and ITCZ “that have resulted in incessant and excessive rains leading to flooding in several regions” in the country.

“With the ongoing reports of flooding and the resulting fatalities, injuries and destruction of property across various regions, it is essential that we take decisive action to prevent further loss of life and damage,” Nepomuceno said.

“The public must not take these weather systems lightly, as they can be as destructive as the typhoons we experienced in January 2023, where 43 lives were lost in the Visayas and Mindanao due to flooding and landslides caused by intense rainfall from the shear line,” he added.

He said all communication lines must remain operational “to facilitate seamless coordination among government units during disasters.”

According to him, regional directors are encouraged to recommend preemptive evacuations to local chief executives, particularly in vulnerable communities that are prone to flooding and landslides.