‘Gener’ displaces over 1,000 people in Visayas areas
CEBU CITY, Philippines–More than 1,000 persons in the coastal areas of Talisay City in Cebu and in Iloilo and Negros were evacuated after strong winds and huge waves caused by typhoon “Gener” damaged around 300 houses.
Two persons in Bacolod City were reported to have died, one due to electrocution and the second after he was swept away by the strong river current.
Several boat trips in the Visayas were also suspended due to the huge waves and strong current.
In Hinoba-an town and Bago City in Negros Occidental, 23 houses were destroyed and 131 others were damaged while 1,295 persons were evacuated, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas.
In Valladolid town, Negros Occidental, 19 houses were destroyed and 220 were damaged when a storm surge hit at 4 a.m. Monday, town social worker Josette Rojo said. Strong winds and high tide toppled the houses located mostly along the shoreline of Barangay Poblacion, Valladolid, Rojo added.
In Iloilo, 14 houses were destroyed while 13 others were damaged, according to a report of the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council.
At least 129 families in Talisay City, Cebu were evacuated after huge waves damaged 79 houses and destroyed 13 others. Several boats owned by Talisay fishermen were also damaged. Radio reports said the seawall in Barangay Dumlog, Talisay had sustained cracks.
The two casualties in Bacolod City are Gary Dulaca, 41, of Apo Housing, Barangay Alijis and Raffy Morales, 2, of Barangay Pahanocoy. Dulaca was rushed to the Bacolod Adventist Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival.
Dulaca’s wife, Grace, 42, and son Geo, 10, who had tried to rescue him, were treated at the hospital’s intensive care unit, said Chief Inspector Levy Pange, Bacolod Police Station 7 chief.
Morales fell into a canal next to their house and the water current brought him to the Pahanocoy River 3 p.m. Saturday as the rain poured, said Joe Marie Vargas, Bacolod Risk Reduction Management Council head. His body was discovered 9 a.m. Saturday.
Trips of passenger boats plying between Iloilo and Guimaras and between Iloilo and Bacolod were suspended due to big waves and strong currents.
In Cebu, 22 vessels canceled their trips as of 1 p.m. Monday, according to Commander Rolando Punzalan, commander of the Cebu Coast Guard Station.
In Lanao del Norte, at least 500 families living in the low-lying plains of the southern part of the province were affected by floods due to heavy rains brought by “Gener” Monday morning, according to initial report of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
Flooded were 12 villages in Sapad, Kapatagan and Sultan Naga Dimaporo towns.
As of 2 p.m. Monday, 488 families in five villages were reported to have been hit by the flashflood.
Heavy rains also caused a landslide in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town’s Barangay Bangaan, rendering the national highway leading to Cotabato City impassable. But as of 2 p.m. Monday, troops from the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion have cleared the road of mud, said the PDRRMO report.
In Barangay Bagong Silang, Kapatagan, residents were evacuated from their homes towards the elevated national highway as officials feared the sudden rise of the floodwater. (Reports from Nestor Burgos Jr., Jhunnex Napallacan, Carla Gomez, Rachel Arnaiz and Joey Gabieta; Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer MindanaoBy Nestor Burgos, Jhunnex Napallacan, Carla Gomez, Rachel Arnaiz, and Jani Arnaiz Inquirer Visayas)
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