BACOLOD CITY – Several areas in the urban barangays of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental were submerged in flood after some of the rivers and creeks in the area burst their banks due to the heavy rains that came Saturday night.
Affected were Barangays 1, 5, 6, and Rizal according to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).
Residents, whose houses were affected by the flood water, moved to evacuation centers while waiting for the water to subside. There was also a brownout for several minutes that all but added to their difficulties.
Engr. Arthur Batomalaque, senior environment management specialist of the City Environment Management Office (CEMO), said the downpour and the debris it brought to the city’s waterways caused the massive flooding, particularly at the bottleneck at some storm water outlets.
He added that plastic wastes that usually clogged waterways were not the cause of the flood since these have long been addressed by the city.
Batomalaque also noted that the flood did not last long, and immediately subsided which was a good indication of an effective drainage system.
As such, he surmised that the sheer volume of water coming from the mountains may have been too enormous for the water channels to contain.
He said that the city will just have to check its flood control plan. He stressed that Mayor Renato Gustilo already planned on widening the waterways including the exits of creeks and rivers, especially in Barangay 1 which is a flood-prone area.
Batomalaque also specified the importance of planting more trees.
“Although the city has been doing this for quite some time already, but still, we need to double our efforts since the trees are our front liners when it comes to flood”, he said.
Meanwhile, the city government of Bacolod will allocate P3.5 million to assist local government units (LGUs) in third district affected by series of flooding caused by heavy rains in the past two weeks.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said that P1 million will be given for each of the cities of Talisay, Silay, and Victorias, and P500,000 for the municipality of E. B. Magalona.
More than 30,000 families were displaced by flashfloods since January 1, causing an initial damage amounting to P60 million on agriculture, fisheries, and livestock.