• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Damage to the agriculture sector caused by southwest monsoon, or habagat, enhanced by tropical storms Ferdie and Helen, as well as tropical depression Gener, has reached P101,737,398 across 121 barangays of Negros Occidental, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Council.
In a report dated September 19, the PDRRMC also reported P1,781,361 losses to fisheries and P1,421,309 to livestock.
Affected by the inclement weather, as reported by PDRRMC, were 55,341 families, composed of 200,782 persons in 256 barangays of 25 cities and municipalities in Negros Occidental.
Of the affected individuals, it reported that 2,987 families are inside evacuation centers, while 592 families are staying outside evacuation centers.
Thirty four houses were destroyed, while 426 were reported partially damaged, with two casualties recorded by the PDRRMC, as of Thursday.
States of calamity have been declared in the municipalities of San Enrique and Hinigaran, and La Carlota City.
The plan of Kabankalan City government to declare a state of calamity, however did not push, as it did not fulfill the criteria or parameters to declare such, according to Mayor Benjie Miranda.
Miranda, however, said 729 families, composed of 3,246 individuals, have already left their evacuation centers and returned to their respective homes, due to improved weather conditions.
The southwest monsoon or habagat will continue to bring rains over Luzon and Visayas, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Western Visayas will have cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms, it added.
PAGASA said a low pressure area (LPA) might develop out of cloud clusters found in the western and eastern parts of the country, but is not expected to happen within 24 hours.
On the other hand, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, over the past 24 hours, logged 30 volcanic quakes and recorded 5,362 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions from Kanlaon volcano.*
