Nearly 100,000 individuals were affected by massive flooding in North Negros over the weekend which affected residents in 6 towns and 2 cities, a latest report from the Province of Negros Occidental said.
Aside from the cities of Talisay, Silay and Victorias which were hardly hit by the flash flood, cities of Cadiz, Sagay & Escalante, along with the towns of EB Magalona & Manapla also confirmed that a number of residents were affected.
In the cities of Talisay, Silay and Victorias, at least 968 houses were also reported destroyed as flood level rose to around 6 feet.
Due to the impact, Zeaphard Caelian, head of the Disaster Management Program Division, said that there is a need for the provincial government to acquire additional early warning devices and disaster response equipment.
Among the risk mitigation devices that Caelian suggested for the provincial government to acquire are water level gauges and rain gauges to ensure residents are properly alerted when there is a rise in water level.
The massive flooding caught many residents off guard as most areas have not experienced similar incident in the past.
An online petition even attributed the flooding to the on-going road construction that will soon connect the city of Silay to Calatrava town.
According to Negros Environmental Watch the on-going road construction traverse the protected area of the Northern Negros Natural Park, which can disrupt the ecosystem and expose the forest to climate threats.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist initially recorded at least P27 million in combined damages to crops & animals across the province. Of the number, P11-million were damages to palay plantation in cities of Silay and Talisay, and municipalities of Manapla and Valladolid. At least 570 farmers were also affected.
