‘Uwan’ strikes days after ‘Tino’ lashes Visayas

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan and Jennifer P. Rendon

Less than a week after Typhoon Tino battered Western Visayas with strong winds and heavy rains, the region is now bracing for Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-Wong), which began impacting several provinces over the weekend.

In Tropical Cyclone Bulletin No. 12 issued at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 9, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) placed Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1.

Areas under TCWS No. 1 are expected to experience wind speeds of 39 to 61 kilometers per hour or intermittent rains within the next 36 hours.

PAGASA said possible impacts include very light or no damage to low-risk structures, light damage to medium- to high-risk structures, and slight damage to homes made of light materials.

Banana plants may be tilted or damaged, small tree branches may break, and rice crops in the flowering stage may suffer significant losses.

Antique and Guimaras were also warned of life-threatening storm surges with waves exceeding three meters in low-lying coastal communities within the next 48 hours.

Rough coastal waters of up to four meters were also forecast for all Western Visayas provinces.

PAGASA’s General Flood Advisory No. 2, issued at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, warned of moderate to intense rains that could trigger flooding in major rivers and tributaries in Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas (DSWD-6) reported that 8,970 families or 26,989 individuals had been affected as of 4:00 p.m. on November 9.

Capiz recorded the highest number of affected families with 7,728, followed by Antique with 754, Iloilo with 440, and Aklan with 48.

Among these, 4,660 families were staying in evacuation centers, while 1,637 families were taking shelter with relatives or friends.

The DSWD-6 has released PHP 224,421 in relief assistance and prepared PHP 51.99 million worth of standby resources, including PHP 2.79 million in cash and PHP 49.2 million in food and non-food items.

The typhoon affected 136 barangays in 15 cities and municipalities across the region.

Authorities reported that 11 houses were totally destroyed while 30 others were partially damaged.

In a phone interview, Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Western Visayas 24/7 Operations Unit Head Maria Christina Mayor said government assets had been prepositioned in anticipation of the storm’s impact.

“Our uniformed services have their search, rescue, and retrieval assets prepositioned across the region,” Mayor said.

She added that the DSWD had already prepositioned family food packs in each town, and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had also deployed bulldozers, dump trucks, and other equipment for clearing operations.

As early as November 8, local government units began preemptive evacuations in anticipation of flooding and landslides.

RDRRMC Situation Report No. 2 stated that 2,956 families or 9,099 individuals were evacuated as of 4:00 p.m. Sunday.

This includes 8,562 individuals in Capiz (Ivisan, Panay, Pilar, Pontevedra, President Roxas, and Sigma), 507 in Iloilo (Batad and Carles), and 30 in Jordan, Guimaras.

The Iloilo City Government also reported 20 families or 50 individuals from two barangays were preemptively evacuated as of noon Sunday.

In Antique, preemptive evacuations began on Saturday, according to Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Broderick Train.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau identified 78 barangays in Antique as prone to rain-induced landslides and flash floods, including 33 in Barbaza, 26 in Laua-an, 18 in Tibiao, and one in Bugasong.

One injury was reported in Calinog, Iloilo, where a 41-year-old man was hit on the head while attempting to fix his roof during strong winds.

Mayor said the victim had already been treated and was in stable condition.