Iloilo city: Floods in parts of Iloilo City have subsided as the local government continues to shelter 517 remaining families, or 1,679 individuals, in evacuation centers, following heavy rainfall enhanced by the southwest monsoon, a report from the Iloilo City emergency operations center (EOC) said on Tuesday.
According to Philippines News Agency, from the previous reporting period, floodwaters have already subsided in 14 barangays, leaving 51 barangays still experiencing flooding. These families were among 1,056 families, equivalent to 3,216 individuals from 65 barangays hit by flooding, with water levels reaching as high as 50 inches or knee-to chest-deep in some areas.
Local sensors recorded extremely high hourly rainfall rates triggering violet (extremely torrential rain / severe advisory) alerts across several monitoring stations. The rainfall averaged 70mm/hour, reaching 160-165 mm in six hours at its peak. These severe accumulations triggered localized flooding across low-lying barangays and streets in Iloilo City, prompting residents to seek help in evacuation.
The city social welfare and development office has activated its three clusters for food and non-food items, camp coordination and camp management, and internally displaced persons protection to ensure a faster and organized response to affected families. The city health office continuously monitors WILD (waterborne, influenza-like, leptospirosis, and dengue) diseases and has provided doxycycline to 2,484 individuals and 200 doses of doxycycline for responders.
The Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) also inspected several evacuation centers to check on the condition of the evacuees, assess their immediate needs, and ensure the readiness of local police personnel to extend assistance and security throughout the situation. Police personnel, particularly the Search and Rescue teams, are on standby for possible rescue and evacuation operations, traffic management, and the dissemination of public safety advisories, especially in flood-prone areas.
Mobile patrol units have been directed to monitor key locations and provide immediate assistance whenever necessary, according to the ICPO report.
