The incessant rains brought about Tropical Depression Agaton since Monday has caused flooding in 156 barangays from one component city and 16 municipalities of Capiz as of Tuesday morning.
“Due to the moderate and heavy rains since yesterday (Monday) until early morning, Capiz continues to experience flooding. As of now based on our record, a total of 16 LGUs (local government units); 16 municipalities and one component city are flooded,” said Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) operations and warning officer Sean Villarruz.
Currently, an initial 1,781 families composed of 8,709 individuals are staying in 28 evacuation centers but this will most likely increase due to continuous rescue operations since last night.
The flooding due to “Agaton” has concentrated on the first district of Capiz, mainly the municipalities of Maayon, Pontevedra, and President Roxas gradually moving towards the second district municipalities.
In previous typhoons, the flooding was more on municipalities in the second district and moved towards the first district, Villarruz added.
“Yesterday due to heavy rains and floodwater, our responding units concentrated on President Roxas to assist residents. Usually, a flash flood is experienced after the 30 minutes to one hour of heavy rains,” he said.
The Panay River which has overflowed together with the high tide contributed to the flooding.
In the second district, PDRRM officer Judy Grace Pelaez ordered the augmentation of teams from the Philippine Coast Guard to the municipality of Sigma to assist stranded residents.
Sigma is considered the catch basin since it is situated in the lowland area of the district.
Once the floodwater subsides in Dumarao, it will gradually move towards the towns of Cuartero, Dumalag and Sigma, Villarruz said.
Due to the flooding, roads from Panay, Pontevedra and portions of Panit-an, particularly in Barangay Agkilo from Roxas City going to Estancia and Balasan in Iloilo are not passable.
“We suggest that our commuters avoid the area or better refrain from traveling and wait for the affected areas to get stabilized so they will also be safe,” he added.
Meantime, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) is waiting for affected areas to get stabilized so they can access and distribute the assistance.
Pelaez and Capiz Governor Esteban Evan B. Contreras have conducted an ocular inspection of affected areas.
The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in its advisory released as of 6 a.m. of Tuesday has appealed to residents living near mountains and low-lying areas of watercourses to be on alert for possible flash floods and landslides.
Among the Capiz watercourses expected to be affected are the rivers and tributaries of Panay, Mambusao, Panay Malinao, Alingon, and Balantian.
Source: Philippines News Agency