BACOLOD, Philippines – A continued downpour brought about by the enhanced southwest monsoon or habagat has caused flooding in the southern part of Negros Occidental, especially in Bago City, on Saturday morning, September 14, rendering some highways impassable to vehicles.
Past 9 am on Saturday, the Bago Component City Police Station (BCCPS) informed the public about the following areas:
- Sibod Bridge at Barangay Sampinit: Not passable for vehicles, except for tricycles and motorcycles
- Barangay Ilijan Bridge: Not passable for all vehicles
- Portion of roads at Barangays Tabunan and Sampinit: Not passable for motorcycles and tricycles
- Barangay Ma-ao Riverside Bridge: Not passable for all vehicles.
Bago, a direct neighbor of the capital, Bacolod City, is the the gateway to the southern part of Negros Occidental.
Mobility to other localities in the south such as Valladolid, Pulupandan, San Enrique, La Carlota, Pontevedra, La Castellana, Isabela, Moises Padlla, Hinigaran, Himamaylan City, Binalbagan, Kabankalan City, Ilog, Cauayan, Candoni, Sipalay, and Hinoba-an was also affected.
Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo told Rappler that they had dispatched teams, including the police, to assist stranded motorists and commuters.
Merijean Ortizo, Bago City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) officer, said that as of Friday night, September 13, the city government had evacuated 652 families, or 1,943 individuals from 11 out of their 24 barangays due to flooding.
The evacuees are from barangays Lag-asan, Atipulu-an, Napoles, Dulao, Sampinit, Pacol, Balingasag, Busay, Ma-ao, Sagasa, and Malingin. On Saturday morning, they were joined by more evacuees from barangays Mailum, Ilijan, Tabunan, Taloc, Calumanggan, and Caridad, Ortizo said.
Ortizo said that as of 11 am on Saturday, rescue operations continue for residents trapped inside their houses in various villages of Bago.
Flashfloods were also reported in San Enrique and Valladolid, as well as evacuations in Sipalay, according to a report from the Provincial Disaster Management Team (PDMT) of Negros Occidental.
Meanwhile, two river irrigation system (RIS) dams of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) have also reached their spilling level.
As of Saturday, the water level of the Pangiplan RIS dam in Barangay Cabadiangan, Himamaylan, has reached 2.20 meters above river (MAR), or almost half a meter up from the normal operation level of 1.70 MAR.
The water level in the Bago RIS dam in Barangay Damsite, Murcia town also reached 5 MAR, or 2 meters above its normal operation of 3 MAR.
Himamaylan Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson told Rappler on Saturday, that he had instructed their city risk reduction and management office (CDRRMO) to check the area of Cabadiangan and the adjacent barangays like Nabali-an and Libacao as these areas will be directly be affected in case the spillage of water from Pangiplan RIS dam worsens amid continued rains.
Tongson said that as of Saturday, they had evacuated than 100 families.
In Bacolod, two of the three fastcraft operators — Montegro Lines and Ocean Jet Fast Ferry Corporation — halted their operations for Bacolod-Iloilo, vice versa, on Saturday morning until further notice.
Weesam, however, continued its operations, as Frank Carbon, its top executive, said many passengers from both Bacolod and Iloilo were begging to go home. “We granted their request,” he said.
Carbon also said that there was no storm signal in Western Visayas and the Philippine Coast Guard did not issue a travel advisory in relation to Tropical Storm Ferdie.
The operations of roll on-roll off (Ro-Ro) vessels plying Bacolod to Dumangas, Iloilo and vice versa, remain unhampered. – Rappler.com
