Heavy rains that caused rivers and creeks to overflow triggered floods in some areas of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, late Saturday, January 16, Mayor Renato Gustilo said today, January 17.
About 123 households composed of 477 individuals evacuated but returned to their houses today as the water subsided, Joe Recalex Alingasa Jr., Local Risk Reduction Management officer, said.
Ten houses were swept away as riverbank erosion intensified along the Andoon River in Sitio Medina, Barangay Rizal, he added.
One house was damaged after it was hit by a tree in Sitio Cabungahan, Barangay Rizal. The rest of the houses in the flooded areas were damaged, Alingasa said.
Two trees fell in Sitio Dukog-dukog, Barangay Rizal, blocking all vehicles in and out of the city, he said, but have since been removed.
The Baticulan Creek, Andoon River, and Palampas River overflowed, Alingasa said.
Residents of Greenville-Bato, Sitio Medina, and Sitio Flume in Barangay Rizal, Hope Street and Bonifacio in Barangay 5, St. Charles Subdivision, Germelina, Villarante Village, Tindalo, St. Vincent Subdivision, Kalingling and Kainggat in Barangay 1 evacuated, he added.
A bridge leading to Sitio Cabunao, Barangay Palampas, was damaged, and all roads in the flooded areas were impassable for a few hours, he said.
There were also power interruptions, he added.
Most of the residents were alarmed since it was the first time they experienced flood water entering their houses, prompting some to move evacuation centers, a San Carlos City Facebook post said.
A brownout for several minutes also added to the trouble.
Arthur Batomalaque, Senior Environment Management Specialist of the City Environment Management Office (CEMO), said in the FB post that the heavy downpour and the debris it brought to the city’s waterways might have caused the flood, including the bottleneck at some storm water outlets.
Plastic waste that usually clogs waterways are not the cause of the flood since it has been long addressed by the city, he said, adding that the floods immediately subsided that is “a good indication of a non-clogged drainage system”.
The volume of water coming from the mountains was just too huge for the water channels to contain.
The mayor plans to widen the waterways, including the exits of creeks and rivers, especially in Brgy. 1 which is a flood-prone area, he said.
Batomalaque also stressed the need to plant more trees.
“Although the city has been doing this for quite some time already, but still, we need to double our efforts since the trees are our front liners when it comes to flood”, he said.
No floods hit Talisay, Silay, and Victorias cities during the weekend, mayors Neil Lizares, Mark Golez, and Francis Palanca said.*