Eight local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental, including capital Bacolod City, were affected by flash floods due to inclement weather brought by Tropical Depression “Kristine” yesterday.
Irene Bel Ploteña, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said the cities of Silay, Cadiz, Victorias, Escalante, Talisay, and Bago, as well as E.B. Magalona town were hit by floods due to continuous rains since Sunday evening, October 20.
Ploteña said floods affected some parts of Sagay and Cadiz, as well as Barangays Taloc, Tabunan and Dulao in Bago City.
Several residents in the affected areas have been evacuated, Ploteña said.
The PDRRMO has not yet received any data from various disaster response offices as of yesterday afternoon.
Classes at all levels in Silay, Cadiz, Victorias, Escalante, and E.B. Magalona town were suspended yesterday.
Ploteña said Tropical Depression “Kristine” might bring more heavy rains until Saturday, October 26.
In Bacolod, the Bureau of Fire Protection rescued 280 individuals in Barangay Sum-ag and another 29 individuals in neighboring Barangay Pahanocoy’s Purok Maninihon due to flash floods.
Of the number, 252 individuals from Sum-ag’s Fatima 2 Isla Noah are now staying at Sum-ag Elementary School.
City fire marshal, Fire Superintendent Jenny Mae Maisip, said the two barangays are flood-prone areas.
“We are continuously monitoring the areas and ready to launch rescue operations if needed,” Maisip said.
Meanwhile, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez issued an executive order yesterday suspending classes from pre-school to senior high school in the city until Tuesday, October 22.
“The safety and welfare of the students in Bacolod City is of the utmost importance, as such there is a need to declare the suspension of classes,” Benitez said in his order.
“The cancellation of classes at the college level will be at the discretion of their respective institutions,” he added.
Araneta Street, Bacolod’s main thoroughfare, was flooded yesterday, which caused heavy traffic in the city’s southern portion.
As of 5:00 p.m. yesterday, Tropical Depression “Kristine” was gaining strength over the Philippine Sea, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
Located 760 kilometers east of Catarman, Northern Samar, “Kristine” has maximum winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts up to 70 kph.
It was moving west-southwestward at 15 kph, with strong winds reaching up to 800 kilometers from its center.
“Kristine” may reach the severe tropical storm category by Wednesday, October 23, and the typhoon category by Friday morning, October 25, prior to landfall over the northeastern portion of Cagayan.
Wind Signal No. 1 was raised in 15 provinces in Southern Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Caraga.
“Kristine,” the 11th tropical cyclone for this year, is also the first tropical cyclone to have either entered or formed within the Philippine area of responsibility this month./WDJ