'Caloy' wreaks havoc in WV
Tropical storm Caloy wreaked havoc in various parts of Western Visayas as it continued to move north of the Philippines last Thursday and Friday.
As of press time Saturday, the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) has already monitored storm damages from different places in the region.
A fisherman was confirmed to have died when their vessel capsized off the coast of Estancia town in Iloilo province Thursday afternoon.
Aletha Ahumada, civil defense officer, identified the fatality as Cristituto Bravat. Four of his companions were rescued when their vessel, F/B Mark Chris capsized due to strong winds about 150 meters from the coastline of Estancia at around 4:15 pm.
In Capiz province, a powerful tornado destroyed 54 houses and damaged 10 others also last Thursday.
The tornado struck at around 4:45 pm, affecting barangays Aranguil, Carmencita and Badiangon in President Roxas town. RDCC director Rose Cabrera said over the radio Friday afternoon that one person was injured--RJ Bulquerin of Brgy. Aranguil.
According to Cabrera, the persons left homeless by the tornado sought refuge among their relatives.
In Iloilo, there were reports of a massive power outage, affecting both the city and the province.
The News Today made a call to the Mirant Global Philippines, which operates the Panay Power Plant in Brgy Ingore, in LaPaz district. A female employee, who refused to be identified, said that their diesel engines conked out at around 3 pm.
"We don't even have power here in our office," said the employee.
According to her, their engines started generating power after 30 minutes.
However, there were parts of Iloilo City which had no electricity as of 5 pm Thursday.
Phone lines of the Panay Electric Company were busy for the duration of the power outage.
There was also flooding in various parts of the City.
Records from the City Social Welfare Office (CSWO) showed ten barangays affected by flood, namely, Magsaysay and Alalasan in La Paz; Camalig, Cuartero, Montinola and Calubihan in Jaro; Yulo Drive, Mohon, and Sooc in Arevalo; and Airport in Mandurriao.
Several streets in the city proper were also submerged by knee-deep waters.
Engineer Jose Papa of the City Disaster Management said that drainage systems around the city could not cope with the massive volume of water caused by a whole-day downpour.
He stressed though that there were no flooding due to rivers overflowing.
A short bridge in the boundary of Tigbauan and Guimbal became impassable after it was destroyed by a strong current Friday afternoon.
Tumagpok Bridge in Miag-ao was also declared impassable Saturday morning after one of its approaches was destroyed.
Engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways were immediately deployed to conduct repairs on the affected bridges.
Engr. Edgar Tabacon of the First Engineering District told The News Today that Tumagpok Bridge in Miag-ao was opened to traffic around 3 pm Saturday.
There were also reports of a landslide blocking sections of the highway linking Iloilo with Antique province, particularly in San Joaquin town.