NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Two episodes of flash floods struck northern parts of Negros Occidental in less than a week, leaving local officials and environmental experts scrambling for answers.
Continuous rain on Friday, December 27, inundated areas in Talisay, Silay, Victorias, Cadiz, Sagay, EB Magalona, and Manapla. The floods were similar to a disaster on December 22, which displaced over 6,000 individuals from nearly 3,000 families in the same areas.
Cadiz City bore the brunt of the December 22 flooding, with barangays Burgos, Daga, Luna, and Caduha-an adversely affected. Residents of Yolanda Village in Barangay Burgos, a relocation site for survivors of 2013’s Super Typhoon Yolanda, were forced to evacuate as floodwaters nearly reached rooftops.
Rescue operations hauled residents to safety in the middle of the night. Despite the scale of the disaster, Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. expressed relief that no fatalities were recorded.
Many thought the December 22 floods would mark the year’s final calamity, but Friday’s deluge brought renewed chaos. Sustained rains forced the evacuation of about 3,000 boy scouts attending a provincial jamboree in Barangay E. Lopez, Silay City. The event, which began December 25, will continue through December 30 despite the disruption.
Silay Mayor Joedith Gallego said floodwaters in barangays E. Lopez and Lantad receded by the afternoon. If it’s any consolation, everyone is safe, he said on Saturday, December 28.
The heavy rain also disrupted air travel. A Philippine Airlines (PAL) express flight overshot the runway at Bacolod-Silay International Airport early Friday morning due to poor visibility caused by heavy rainfall. While no injuries were reported, the incident forced the cancellation of a number of flights, stranding passengers.
In EB Magalona town, 12 of its 22 barangays were submerged, according to Mayor Marvin Malacon. Immediate relief was provided to affected residents, he said.
In Victorias City, flooding hit Canetown Subdivision in Barangay XIX-A, recalling the devastating floods of January 2021. Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez announced on social media that the city would cancel its January 1 New Year’s celebration to focus on flood response and drainage improvement.
The twin disasters puzzled environmental officials. Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya, chief of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), said northern Negros’ watersheds in Himoga-an in Sagay, Malogo in EB Magalona and Victorias, and Sicaba in Cadiz, remain densely vegetated.
“Maybe the rains on December 22 and 27 were too heavy and concentrated in northern Negros Occidental, so the vegetation and watersheds in the northern part of the province could no longer hold the flow of rainwater,” Gerangaya said.
He said an immediate assessment of the watersheds was being done to determine measures to mitigate future flooding. – Rappler.com
