The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Victorias City has placed the local government under a state of calamity after 19 barangays of the LGU have been hit by floods in the wee hours of Jan. 1, 2021.
Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca said that by declaring a state of calamity the city government can utilize its 2021 calamity fund to extend financial assistance to the affected families.
A total of 9,028 families were affected by the floods that also resulted to the death of a resident, Ramil Panes, of Barangay 6-A, police said.
At least 46 houses were destroyed, while 183 others were damaged.
The City Agriculture Office placed the estimated damage to crops, livestock and fisheries to P4.3 million.
Palanca said the city government has set aside P25 million this year to acquire their own dredger in order to sustain its program of clearing waterways.
He also claimed that Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson promised to support him in the planned acquisition of the dredger.
Siltation of rivers and creeks were seen as one of the reasons for the sudden rise of the water level in coastal barangays aside from the downpour and high tide in the early morning of Jan. 1.
Last Wednesday, the Talisay Sanggunian also passed a resolution endorse by the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council placing the LGU under a state of calamity.
Mayor Neil Lizares said they are reviewing efforts how to improve the existing flood control programs of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
Records from the Talisay CDRRMO showed a total of 4,661 families were affected by New Year’s Day flood in 17 barangays.
Twenty-one houses were destroyed and 244 others were damaged, the CDRRMO head Geoffrey Gutierrez said.
Residents of Barangay Zone 3 along Catabla River were hardest hit, he said, adding that majority of the villagers are informal settlers, whose houses were built along waterways.
Unfortunately, he claimed, the New Year’s Day flood came ahead of their scheduled dredging work in the area supposedly set later this month, further saying that the Mayor’s Office has already set aside funds to dredge the Catabla Creek and other water ways.
With the declaration of the state of calamity, the city government, through its Social Welfare and Development Office, can now determine the amount that the LGU will give as financial assistance to residents, whose houses were either damaged or destroyed. – MML
