Iloilo: A prolonged spell of adverse weather over nearly two weeks has wreaked havoc on infrastructure and agriculture across several provinces in Western Visayas. The deluge has led to significant damage to flood control projects and crops, resulting in substantial financial losses.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Office of Civil Defense Western Visayas spokesperson, Maria Christina Mayor, reported that agriculture losses in the provinces of Antique, Iloilo, and Guimaras have already surpassed PHP1.72 million. The primary crops affected include rice in Iloilo and high-value crops in both Antique and Guimaras.
“We expect the number to increase, considering that Capiz and Aklan have yet to submit their report on the damage to agriculture,” Mayor stated during an interview on Monday. Concurrently, infrastructure damage in Iloilo and Antique alone has reached over PHP43.77 million, affecting critical flood control projects and revetments.
Mayor detailed that Iloilo bore the brunt of the damage with nearly PHP38 million in losses. This was primarily due to the erosion of sections of the Aganan flood control project along Barangays Balabag and Amparo in Pavia town. In Antique, the damage amounted to almost PHP6 million, following the destruction of the bridge approach and revetment along the river in Barangay Bacalan, Sebaste town, as well as the collapse of a revetment section along Bacong River in Barangay Camansijan, Culasi.
“Most of those damaged were saturated by water, causing our revetments and riverbanks to erode. The strong floodwater carrying big debris also resulted in damage to the flood control projects,” Mayor explained. She emphasized that the damage was not solely due to Typhoon Opong but was exacerbated by soil saturation from heavy rains originating with Typhoon Mirasol.
Mayor anticipates the cost of damage to escalate once the relevant agencies finalize their assessments. “Other damage to infrastructure was not apparent, so it was not immediately reported,” she noted.
The adverse weather has impacted 1,482 barangays across Western Visayas, affecting 129,345 families, which translates to 461,412 individuals. “When we say affected, it’s not necessarily that they are in evacuation centers or displaced, but they experienced flooding, their houses were damaged, so they were affected in any way,” Mayor clarified.
As of Sunday evening, 2,531 families or 8,702 individuals remain in evacuation centers, while 13,520 families or 55,638 individuals are staying with relatives, friends, or in hotels. Despite the extensive damage, Mayor acknowledged that the proactive measures taken by local government units, following the advice of Civil Defense Regional Director and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chair Raul Fernandez, helped limit the casualties to just one.