CDCC steps up rescue, relief operations in flood-ravaged areas
Mayor Celso Lobregat sympathizes with affected residents of Baliwasan, who were forced to leave their flood-submerged houses following heavy rains and strong winds spawmed by tropical storm Ondoy Saturday. The affected residents sought shelter at the JFE complex. (JOEY BAUTISTA)
Tropical Storm Ondoy hit Zamboanga City yesterday causing floods in rivers and low lying areas and huge waves in some coastal areas.
The City Disaster Coordinating Council’s action center established in City Hall initially identified 5 barangays to be hardest hit by the disaster—Tugbungan, Baliwasan, Putik, Ayala and Tictabon.
On orders of Mayor Celso Lobregat, the City Social Welfare and Development Office provided emergency relief assistance to the affected families who sought temporary shelter in evacuation centers.
Other member agencies of the CDCC were also mobilized to conduct rescue operations and to assist families in flood-ravaged areas. The Philippine Navy deployed rubber boats to the interior areas of sitio Dakkak in Tugbungan to evacuate trapped families.
City Administrator Antonio Orendain Jr., who is CDCC Action Officer, said distress calls started to reach him as early as 3:30 a.m. Saturday from people residing in the subdivisions of Morning Glory and A&W and Sto. Nino Village in barangay Putik.
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, the CDCC Action Center initially recorded a total of 153 houses affected with 153 families. Total number of dependents is 414. The breakdown is as follows: Baliwasan-75 houses, 75 families with 338 dependents; Tictabon—53 houses with 53 families; Putik—18 houses with 18 families and 46 dependents and Ayala—7 houses with 7 families and 30 dependents. Records have yet to be obtained pertaining to the Tugbungan area, as of press time.
Baliwasan evacuees sought shelter at the Joaquin Enriquez Sports Complex while the affected families in Putik and Ayala used their respective barangay halls as evacuation centers.
The 53 houses in the coastal barangay of Tictabon were damaged by huge waves caused by strong winds. 8 of the 53 were totally wrecked. In Ayala, 2 of the 7 houses affected were totally damaged.
Mayor Lobregat yesterday morning made the rounds of the evacuation centers and flood-ravaged areas to see what other assistance could be provided to help alleviate the plight of the affected residents.
Aside from displaced families, flood-submerged homes and incidences in some coastal areas, the CDCC action center also received reports of uprooted trees due to strong winds in Abong-abong, Pasonanca; Suterville and some other areas, uprooted billboard near the local airport and the case of an international cargo vessel which ran aground on the breakwaters of R.T. Lim Boulevard, according to Orendain.
Orendain, has alerted all CDCC member agencies as early as Thursday, September 24, upon receipt of an advisory related to Ondoy from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).
Though Quezon Province is the hardest hit area, Zamboanga City including Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay are among the areas forecast to be affected by rainfall during the next 24 hours based on the succeeding NDCC advisory issued 5 a.m. of September 26.
People living near the mountain slopes and in the low lying areas near rivers such as Tumaga river as well as the Local Coordinating Councils are advised to be on alert for possible flashfloods and landslides, according to the NDCC advisory.
Meanwhile, Mayor Lobregat advised anew, people residing along river banks or along the shorelines to evacuate to safer areas as storm Ondoy remains to be in the Zamboanga area.
He said the CDCC action center will continue to operate to monitor reports and to provide the needed assistance to affected families.
The action center is headed by City Administrator Orendain and is composed of personnel from the CSWDO, General Service Office, Mayor’s executive assistants, City Hall Community Police Action Center (COMPAC), City Hall Traffic Enforcement Team (Traffic Aides), Philippine Coast Guard and other concerned agencies. (Sheila Covarrubias)