• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Residents in 31 barangays of Bacolod City were affected by floodwaters due to heavy rains brought by Tropical Depression Verbena Nov. 25, with 23 families left homeless, while 2,543 families, composed of 8,375 individuals, sought shelter in various evacuation centers.
Mayor Greg Gasataya said classes from pre-school to senior high in public schools in Bacolod are still suspended today, Nov. 26, since several schools are being used as evacuation centers.
“Upon prior consultation with the private schools, classes are left to the discretion of their respective school heads and administrators,” the mayor said in a post last night.
Floodwaters inundated houses in Purok Mars, Barangay Singcang-Airport yesterday morning, and residents were rescued from rooftops by various groups, including the Bacolod Bureau of Fire Protection, Red Cross, and other volunteers.
Aside from Singcang-Airport, floodwaters also rendered several roads impassable for a few hours and affected residents in barangays Bata, Banago, 2, Mansilingan, Pahanocoy, 35, 36, 16, Taculing, 14, 3, 18, 10, Cabug, Montevista, Mandalagan, Estefania, Granada, 1, Villamonte, 13, 27, Alijis, Tangub, 40, 5, 8, 31, 41, and Sum-ag, per data from the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD), as of 5:30 p.m.
The city said about 20 percent of the affected families preemptively evacuated, while others were rescued after floodwaters rose.
Rivers that overflowed included Magsungay, Lupit, Mambuloc, Banago, and Mandalagan, the city said in a press release. “Combined with heavy runoff from neighboring Murcia, Talisay, Don Salvador Benedicto, and Silay, (it) worsened flooding in low-lying areas (of Bacolod).”
Gasataya said that Bacolod’s average daily rainfall is 10 mm, but between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. yesterday, the city recorded 70.50 mm.
Despite the onslaught, the city reported zero casualties due to Verbena.
The DSSD, meanwhile, already distributed 2,191 family food packs (FFPs) to hardest-hit areas, including Singcang-Airport, 1,200; Barangay 39 with 734 FFPs; Mansilingan, 50; and Taculing, 207, the city said. | CGC
