The southwest monsoon rains or ‘habagat’ affected some 46,321 families or a total of 156,114 individuals in Western Visayas, data from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) showed.
Negros Occidental, the hardest-hit province, reported as many as 21,837 families experiencing flooding and damage to their homes.
Antique posted 18,569 families affected while Aklan had 5,837 families displaced. Iloilo and Guimaras were also impacted, but not as much with 45 and 33 families, respectively, reeling from the flood.
The weather disturbance also left a trail of destruction in private properties with 110 houses incurring damages—12 of which were completely destroyed and 98 needed repairs. Flooding affected 444 barangays, submerging homes and disrupting daily activities in the entire region.
Though floods have subsided in major areas—particularly in Antique where roadways were severely affected by the flooding—one person remains missing due to the ongoing rains.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) released a sea travel advisory in Iloilo as rough seas stranded 69 passengers as the inclement weather affected two ferry trips.
Relief efforts are underway, but while the needs of the displaced families are addressed, authorities ensure that food and other essentials for these affected families take precedence.
As of this posting, 10,024 families were already provided with food packs, and the evacuees already received 356 non-food items in the emergency shelters.
The provincial government of Antique, meanwhile, said it incurred approximately more than P18-million agriculture damages so far due to the monsoon rains.
PAGASA on Monday said the provinces of Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, Aklan, Antique, and Negros Occidental will continue to experience heavy to intense rains attributed to ‘habagat’ until Wednesday.
