Bacolod City—A second wave of massive flooding triggered by hours of moderate to heavy rains brought by thunderstorms hit localities in northern Negros Occidental on Friday night.
Like what took place in the early morning of New Year’s Day, hundreds of residents in the cities of Talisay, Silay, Victorias, and the town of E.B. Magalona, all situated in the third district, were back in evacuation centers after waters rose neck-deep and even higher in some barangays.
The latest data from affected local government units showed that in Talisay, just north of Bacolod, 2,964 families from 15 villages were evacuated as of Saturday noon.
In Silay, 193 families took shelter at the civic center by past midnight.
Meanwhile, in Victorias, an initial 1,089 families were displaced, 830 of whom left their homes during preemptive evacuation.
“The floods were really bad. We had a hard time rescuing people. My vehicle could no longer enter some areas where waters were rising on Friday night,” said Victorias Councilor Francis Frederick Palanca, who joined responders in evacuating his affected constituents.
By early Saturday morning, Palanca was still with fellow responders rescuing people stranded in their homes.
Although there were areas where floodwaters have subsided, some were still underwater at noon, he added.
In E.B. Magalona, at least three villages were flooded and several residents were also brought to evacuation centers.
During the January 1 floods, Cadiz City reported only damage to crops, but this time at least a hundred residents of the second district were also displaced and evacuated to a school building.
Further down north in Escalante City, which is part of the first district, a portion of the national road in Barangay Jonob-Jonob was also flooded and rendered impassable for a few hours.
Hours before the rains came on Friday, third district officials led by Rep. Francisco Benitez, with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, launched a dredging operation in Victorias as part of the response to the January 1 flash floods that affected some 15,000 families and destroyed and damaged hundreds of houses in Talisay, Silay, Victorias and E.B. Magalona.
More than PHP20 million in damage and losses to agro-fishery and livestock were also reported after the New Year’s Day floods.
Talisay and Victorias were placed under a state of calamity by their respective city councils on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
The Philippine Coast Guard on Saturday said it has helped evacuate around 115 residents in Talisay City and Victorias City at around 1 a.m. on Saturday.
The residents were brought to Catabla Covered Court and the Victorias City Mall for temporary shelter.
The local government is extending assistance to the affected residents.
Parts of Bicol region and the Eastern Visayas will experience moderate to intense rains in the next 24 hours due to the Tail-End of a Frontal System (Shear Line), PAGASA said on Saturday.
In its 11 a.m. advisory, PAGASA said Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Ticao Island, and Northern Samar will have moderate to heavy with at times intense rains following the inclement weather.
Meanwhile, Camarines Norte, Masbate including Burias Island, Cagayancillo Islands, Antique, Aklan, Guimaras, Capiz, Iloilo, the northern and central portions of Negros Occidental, the northern portion of Cebu including Bantayan and Camotes Islands, Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, and Leyte will experience light to moderate with at times heavy rains.