Agricultural and fishery losses in Negros Occidental have climbed to P16,300,082.59 as the province grapples with the effects of rains brought on by the shear line and the northeast monsoon.
The shear line and northeast monsoon-induced rains over Negros Occidental are expected to last until Thursday or Friday, Irene Bel Ploteña, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), said Tuesday, Feb. 10.
The state weather bureau raised orange to red rainfall warnings in some areas of Negros Occidental on Tuesday.
A red warning signifies that serious flooding is expected, while an orange warning indicates that flooding is threatening.
The PDRRMO and the Coast Guard have prepositioned rescue assets to respond to possible flooding, Ploteña said.
OIC-Provincial Agriculturist Dina Genzola, in a report submitted to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, stated that as of Feb. 5, the fisheries sector bore the brunt of the foul weather, accounting for over 60 percent of the total recorded losses.
The fisheries sector recorded P10,901,430 in losses, she said.
Damage to crops reached P5,398,653, with rice bearing the brunt at P4,465,052, followed by corn at P86,100 and high-value crops at P847,500, Genzola added.
Meanwhile, in Moises Padilla town a 30-year-old man crossed the Binalbagan River to Brgy Macagahay at 10 a.m. yesterday and drowned, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head Reynaldo Horegue said.
Search and rescue operation were ongoing, he said.*
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