The Emergency Response Unit and Ambulance Team of the Philippine Red Cross Negros Occidental-Bacolod City Chapter rescuing residents from the rooftops of houses at the Sagrado Villas relocation site in Barangay Burgos, Cadiz City, Monday morning.*PRC photo
Floods drove 2,918 residents in three cities and one town in northern Negros Occidental to evacuate late Sunday and early Monday morning, Dec. 22 and 23.
Residents at a housing village for Super Typhoon Yolanda victims in Cadiz City were rescued from rooftops.
The floods were triggered by heavy rains caused by the shear line affecting the Visayas and Tropical Cyclone Romina, Irene Bel Ploteña, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head, said.
The floods that hit 15 barangays in the cities of Cadiz, Victorias and Sagay, and municipality of Manapla affected 6,180 persons and caused 2,918 to evacuate, she said.
Cadiz City was the worst hit with 2,918 evacuees, Manapla with 514, Victorias – 37 and Sagay – 29.
Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante asked the evacuees not to immediately return to their homes on Monday morning as the possibility of more rain could occur.
In Cadiz City floods hit barangays Luna, Daga, Caduha-an, Burgos and Andres Bonifacio, including a relocation site where Super Typhoon Yolanda victims now live.
Residents were rescued from the rooftops at the Sagrado Villas relocation site in Barangay Burgos by volunteers of the Philippine Red Cross Negros Occidental-Bacolod City Chapter, Escalante said.
About 250 out of about 1,000 houses at Sagrado Villas were flooded. The houses are about 9 feet tall and the water was up to their roofs, where residents sought refuge, Escalante said.
The Emergency Response Unit and Ambulance Team of the Philippine Red Cross Negros Occidental-Bacolod City Chapter rescued a stroke patient stranded on a rooftop.
“With coordinated efforts, our team safely transferred the individual to our rescue boat, ensuring immediate care and comfort. The patient was then handed over to the standby ambulance for further medical attention,” it said.
Using rescue boats, they assisted stranded families, including persons with disabilities, infants, and even pets, ensuring everyone’s safety, the PRC added.
The flooding was caused by clogged drainage due to overgrown nipa plants, Escalante said.
The problem is people are no longer buying nipa for their roofing so the plants were not harvested, he said.
He said clearing operations were ongoing.
Escalante also said he reported the matter to the Department of Public Works and Highways and Rep. Alfredo Marañon III (Neg. Occ., 2nd District) and P50 million has been allocated for flood control work in the area that could start early next year.
The floods also hit the highway and bridges, and rains caused zero visibility for commuters. Vehicles stopped moving because their drivers could not see what was ahead, he said.
“We are addressing the needs of our evacuees, especially their food,” Escalante said.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the Negros Occidental provincial government sent food packs for the Cadiz and Manapla evacuees.
The evacuees in Victorias had already decamped, he said.*