30 hospital patients evacuated in Iloilo City due to threat of flood

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Thirty patients of the district hospital of Barotac Viejo town in Iloilo were evacuated Wednesday afternoon due to heavy rains and threats of flooding due to storm “Quinta.”

The patients were transferred to the town’s gymnasium around 3 p.m., Barotac Viejo Mayor Niel Tupas III told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Tupas said all the patients were suffering from minor illnesses and did not need to be transferred to hospitals in Iloilo City, 64 kilometers away.

At least three doctors and 10 nurses were with the patients and ambulances were standing by in case any of the patients needed to be transported to hospitals.

Tupas said the patients were evacuated because the district hospital was located in a low area prone to flooding.

“We decided to transfer them because the hospital may become inaccessible later due to the heavy rains,” the mayor said.