‘Inday’-enhanced habagat kills 2 farmers in Iloilo

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor and Jennifer P. Rendon

Two farmers died in Iloilo in weather-related incidents as heavy rains from the southwest monsoon, enhanced by Typhoon Inday, triggered landslides, flooding and infrastructure damage across Western Visayas over the weekend.

In Sitio Sidlangan, Barangay Nagba, Tubungan, a 68-year-old farmer was killed after a landslide buried part of his house before dawn on Sunday, July 12.

The victim, Placido Tabalina, was asleep on the lanai of the family home at about 4 a.m. when hours of continuous rain sent soil from an uphill rice field collapsing onto the structure below.

The house sat at the foot of a hill, and the landslide first struck the section where Tabalina was sleeping.

Tabalina lived with his son, daughter-in-law and their three children, who were also inside the house at the time.

All five family members escaped and sought help from barangay officials.

Barangay officials and residents responded within 15 minutes, Tubungan Vice Mayor Leo Cesar Taypen said.

Tabalina’s daughter-in-law located his body, which was recovered lying face down from the debris after a search, rescue and retrieval operation that lasted more than 30 minutes.

Members of the Tubungan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) also responded.

Tabalina was rushed to the Tubungan Rural Health Unit, where he was declared dead on arrival at 6:50 a.m.

Taypen said barangay officials had reached out to residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas to urge preemptive evacuation, but reports indicated Tabalina’s household was not immediately reached.

A second fatality occurred in Barangay Balabag, Dumangas, where farmer Sherwin Tamayo, 47, was electrocuted while working in his field on Friday morning, July 10.

An initial investigation found that Tamayo was trying to remove a dangling fiber-optic cable from his farmland when he came into contact with an energized power line.

A resident found him unconscious at about 6:40 a.m., and the Dumangas Rescue Team rushed him to the Ramon D. Duremdes District Hospital, where he was declared dead at 7:40 a.m.

In Leon, in central Iloilo, flooding and landslides damaged public infrastructure over the weekend.

A hanging bridge in Barangay Camandu was destroyed Sunday after the Sibalom River swelled from persistent rain.

The bridge is a key crossing for residents of Barangays Camandu, Paoy, Awis, Captain Fernando, Gumboc and Bulad.

Authorities also reported damage to a flood-control structure in Sitio Buntalan, Barangay R. Tabiana, in the Leon town center.

The local government temporarily closed the road linking Barangays Manampunay, Tacuyong Norte and Tacuyong Sur and Sitio Timpik in Barangay Igcadios because of landslides.

Soil erosion was also reported in Sitio Talibong, Barangay Cara-an.

In Zarraga, a hanging bridge collapsed in Barangay Sigangao, where flooding was also reported.

In Janiuay, authorities monitored flooding and road erosion.

A creek also overflowed in Barangay Dongsol, Pototan, inundating nearby areas.

Rain-induced landslides were reported in Igbaras, while roadside erosion affected parts of Barangays Tubang and Tulahong in Maasin.

Shortly after midnight Saturday, 19 members of the Badjao community, including an infant, were rescued from beneath the Tumagbok Bridge in Miagao after a river swelled rapidly amid heavy rain.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas (DSWD-6) said the rains affected 22 local government units and 117 barangays across the region.

As of 4 a.m. Sunday, the agency recorded 2,978 affected families, or 9,592 people.

Of these, 128 families, or 360 people, were staying in 24 evacuation centers, while 134 families, or 385 people, sheltered with relatives or friends.

The DSWD-6 also reported nine houses totally destroyed and 104 partially damaged.

Government assistance to affected families has reached PHP 1.48 million, including PHP 1.36 million from the DSWD.

The DSWD-6 said it has PHP 163.76 million in standby funds, family food packs and other relief items ready for immediate response across the region.

Inday, known internationally as Bavi, was the Philippines’ ninth tropical cyclone of 2026 and was not expected to make landfall in the country, PAGASA said.

The typhoon exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Saturday morning, July 11, and moved over mainland China, but the monsoon it enhanced continued to soak Western Visayas through the weekend.

On Sunday, PAGASA said the habagat would keep bringing rain over parts of Luzon and the Visayas but gradually weaken, while advising residents in areas with prolonged rainfall to stay alert for possible flash floods and landslides.