Floods, swollen rivers force evacuation in Antique, Iloilo

Nonstop rains brought floods and swelled rivers forced the evacuation of 15 families or 58 people in Antique on Tuesday.

Broderick Train, executive officer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the families from Barangays Sta. Ana and Sto. Rosario in Tibiao town in Antique were moved to the Sta. Ana barangay hall after the Dalanad River spilled over the banks.

In Iloilo City, eight villages in the districts of Arevalo, Jaro and Mandurriao remained flooded. At least 911 families or 4,555 persons were affected, but there were no reported evacuations, according to the city social welfare and development office.

On Monday, 66 persons were evacuated from Barangay So-oc in Arevalo town in Iloilo due to flooding. They were able to return home the next day.

In Oton town, also in Iloilo, 17 families or 45 people were still at Oton National High School and Central Elementary School as of yesterday morning, according to the municipal social welfare and development office.

On Monday, floods dislocated 66 families or 271 people in 12 villages in Oton.

In Bicol, regional officials Tuesday reactivated their quick response teams (QRTs) and water and sanitation teams (Watsan) to assist authorities in flood-stricken Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

“The teams are ready for dispatch anytime as we are just waiting for instructions from the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council),” said Bernardo Alejandro, head of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol and chair of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).

A QRT is composed of 21 personnel while a Watsan has 30, including a water purifying machine. The teams are on standby at the OCD office at Camp General Simeon Ola here.

Although the weather is fair in Bicol, fishing boats and other small vessels have been advised not to venture out into the open sea due to moderate to rough waters and moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Last week, the RDRRMC, along with member agencies, local disaster councils and media outfits,  held its first “Bicol Olympics” at the Philippine Navy compound as part of its contribution to raising natural disaster consciousness. Reports from Nestor Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas, and Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon