Habagat, ‘Inday’ affect over 29,000 across W. Visayas

By Mariela Angella Oladive

More than 29,000 people across Western Visayas have been affected by the southwest monsoon, or habagat, enhanced by Tropical Cyclone “Inday,” with thousands displaced and hundreds of houses damaged, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 6 reported.

DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) Report No. 6, as of 4 p.m. Sunday, July 12, counted 29,129 people, or 8,070 families, from 288 barangays in 35 local government units (LGUs) affected by the weather disturbance.

Of those affected, 571 families, or 2,286 people, are staying in 50 evacuation centers.

Another 329 families, or 1,287 people, are sheltering outside evacuation centers, mostly with relatives or friends.

The report also listed 434 damaged houses — 29 totally destroyed and 405 partially damaged.

The DSWD said it has provided PHP 3.89 million in assistance so far.

Combined humanitarian aid from the DSWD, local government units, and non-government organizations has reached PHP 4.10 million.

The agency said it holds PHP 161.23 million in standby resources — PHP 158.23 million in food and non-food items and PHP 3 million in standby funds — that can be mobilized for disaster response.

DSWD Field Office 6 said relief operations and coordination with LGUs remain ongoing as it validates reports from affected areas.

The southwest monsoon, intensified by “Inday,” has brought days of intermittent to heavy rains over Western Visayas, triggering flooding, landslides, and other weather-related incidents in several provinces.

“Inday,” internationally named Bavi, was the country’s ninth tropical cyclone of 2026 and the second to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility in July, according to PAGASA. It peaked as a super typhoon before weakening and exiting toward Taiwan and mainland China around July 11, leaving the enhanced habagat as the main driver of rains over the region.

Ahead of the storm, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council 6 raised Western Visayas to “Blue” alert on July 8, prepositioning family food packs, relief items, and a standby fund of PHP 3 million across the region.

Authorities continue to monitor conditions as rains persist over parts of Western Visayas, including Iloilo, Guimaras, Antique, Aklan, and Capiz.