The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas said yesterday that five deaths and one missing were officially recorded in the region due to the combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon, Tropical Storm “Ferdie” and Tropical Depression “Gener.”

The fatalities, all from drowning, were recorded in Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, Bacolod City, and Hinoba-an in Negros Occidental, while the missing individual is from Sipalay City in Negros Occidental.

In an interview, OCD Regional Director Raul Fernandez called on those staying in hazard-prone areas to voluntarily evacuate when necessary so that responders will not get overwhelmed.

“We are advising the public to be vigilant, always listen to advisories, and cooperate for their safety and the safety of our rescuers and responders since their life is also at stake,” he said.

Fernandez said the response cluster of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is ready to provide the immediate needs of affected families in the worst hit areas in Antique and Negros Occidental.

“We are already organizing delivery of non-food items (NFIs). We have prepositioned NFIs at Camp Fullon in Antique. We have goods in Iloilo that we can deliver,” he added.

In a separate interview, Erlyn Garcia, chief of the Disaster Response Management Division chief of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), said that as of noon yesterday, 81,836 families were affected by the weather disturbance.

DSWD has also recorded 83 totally damaged and 597 partially damaged houses.

She said 10,055 displaced families are in 412 evacuation centers within the region, while 5,497 families are with their relatives or in other safer areas.

The DSWD has already provided 16,077 family food packs and over 500 non-food items worth over P14.054 million to the affected families. (PNA)