Floods hit 54 villages in Capiz; boats prohibited from going out at sea

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—Continuous rains since Monday triggered flashfloods in Capiz province submerging rice fields and rendering roads impassable.

Flooding was reported in 54 villages in the province as of 11 a.m Wednesday, according to a report of the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office.

The flooded villages were in the towns of Sigma (15 villages), Panit-an (12), Mambusao (4), Dao (11), Pontevedra (7), Dumarao (1), Panay (3) and Maayon (1). These are among the areas in the province that usually experience flooding during heavy rains.

No casualties and evacuation were reported as of Wednesday morning, said Esperedion Pelaez, provincal disaster risk reduction and management officer.

However, emergency response teams have been placed on alert for rescue and evacuation operations.

The Coast Guard has also directed fishing boats and small seacraft not to venture out to the sea because of the big waves that pose danger to these vessels.

The flooding hit the province as residents were still recovering from last year’s supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan), which destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of houses and other structures and ravaged the economy of the province.

In Negros Occidental, the day-care pupils still have no rooms for their classes, according to Provincial Social Welfare Officer Liane Garcia.

The supertyphoon destroyed 12 day-care centers and damaged 77 in the second district of Negros Occidental, Garcia said on Wednesday.

In Cadiz City, 10 day-care centers were destroyed and 67 were damaged while another 10 were damaged in Manapla and two others were destroyed in Sagay City.

Day-care pupils have had to go to neighboring areas that still had centers or to schools with classrooms to spare, she said.

The classes for 2 1/2 and 3-year-old pupils have been scheduled in the morning while those aged 4 and 5 were supposed to attend classes in the afternoon, Garcia noted.

The children of families getting cash doleout from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program have been required to go to day-care classes, she added.

The repair and reconstruction of day-care centers have been included in the 20 percent development fund of the province, Garcia said.

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. has informed chief rehabilitation coordinator Panfilo Lacson that Yolanda caused P1.2 billion in damage to Negros Occidental. The governor hoped to get some assistance from the national government.