Antique: Three towns in Antique have declared a state of calamity after being severely affected by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Severe Tropical Storm Crising. Provincial Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer III Michael Tolentino, in an interview Wednesday, said Sebaste, Barbaza, and Culasi, all northern towns in Antique, are under a state of calamity.
According to Philippines News Agency, Culasi declared a state of calamity on Wednesday, Sebaste on Monday, and Barbaza on Tuesday. Tolentino, citing the minutes for the state of calamity declaration in Barbaza, said the heavy to sometimes intense rainfall greatly affected their critical and lifeline infrastructure facilities and left widespread damage on agriculture. The local government pre-emptively evacuated 264 families, equivalent to 860 individuals, due to flooding and landslide. The municipality also incurred damage in infrastructure and agriculture, amounting to PHP75 million. Tolentino said they still had to get official copies of the declaration in Sebaste and Culasi.
With three municipalities under a state of calamity, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Council, headed by Governor Paolo Everardo Javier, will convene on Thursday to place Antique under the state of calamity. Meanwhile, Tolentino said they have prepositioned their assets and personnel at their satellite office in Culasi since early this morning in preparation for the adverse effect of the two weather disturbances 'Dante' and 'Emong' inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, but that so far, there had been no major effect in Antique.
'We have monitored a mudflow in Barangay Igbarawan in the municipality of Patnongon, but the Department of Public Works and Highways immediately cleared it also,' he said. He added the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has also issued a sea advisory for fishermen to refrain from going out to sea to prevent any sea mishap. The DRRMOs of the 18 towns are also closely monitoring major rivers, such as Sibalom, Paliwan, and Bacong. Their water level remains normal, or has not overflowed, until this afternoon.
'We just advise the public to have preemptive evacuation if there is imminent danger of flooding in their areas,' Tolentino said. He said that so far, light to moderate and at times heavy rainfall have been experienced in the different parts of Antique since Wednesday morning.
