IN EASTERN SAMAR: Officials of flooded towns ask for help

TACLOBAN CITY , Philippines -  —Floodwaters as high as 12 feet, caused by continuing downpour, have continued to plague two towns in Eastern Samar to this day, prompting their respective officials to call for assistance from government agencies and non-government organizations.

Mayor Delia Monleon of Jipapad said her town is now isolated from the rest of the province due to rising floodwaters that have affected nine barangays, four of which are within the central part of the town.

"We really need assistance. Our entire town is flooded since Friday with flood waters reaching as high as 12 feet. Some of my people are staying at the top of their houses just to avoid being swept by the flood," Monleon told The FREEMAN over her mobile phone.

The mayor, whose ground floor of her two-storey house has been inundated also, said several residents have abandoned their houses to flee to safer and higher grounds. Most of them have been staying at the town's church and municipal hall, both located at an elevated portion.

Monleon said her main concern now is on how to provide food assistance to the affected families, which have now reached to close to 2,000 or about 10,000 people, all of whom have been displaced from their houses.

The provincial government has already provided more than P200,000 in financial aid and she said she would use this money to buy for the immediate needs of the families, particularly foods.

In Maslog, houses in 12 barangays were submerged in floodwaters, said Kenneth Balase, local operations officer, in a text message to The FREEMAN.

Balase said the affected families, numbering more than 800, took temporary shelters in a military camp and at a multi-purpose center, both located in higher grounds, while some evacuated to places uphill. "Our transportation has been paralyzed, as roads are now impassable with only the roofs our some houses seen above the floodwaters," he said, as he also called for immediate assistance.

The Office of the Civil Defense-8 the other day reported the damage to infrastructure and agriculture in Eastern Visayas has reached P110.83 million, with Southern Leyte and Northern Samar taking the large part of the damages on agriculture and infrastructure.

OCD-8 regional director Angel Gaviola said the Southern Leyte towns severely affected were Sogod, Hinundayan, Bontoc, Hinunangan, Libagon, Macrohon, Liloan, Silago and St. Bernard, and even Maasin City.

In Northern Samar, the OCD-8 has reported P85 million worth of damages to roads and bridges while P50 million in houses and other properties. Gaviola said the towns of Las Navas and Silvino Lobos have been under floodwaters for three days last week.

He said there were reports from the provincial disaster monitoring council in the capital town of Catarman about some casualties. "We still have to verify," he said. 

Meanwhile, the OCD is still monitoring the continued evacuation of families from their houses in landslide prone villages of Mahayag and Tabontabon in St. Bernard.

"At least 40 families have been rescued by the Philippine Air Force and were brought to St. Bernard Central School. Two UH-1H helicopters have been deployed to the area to search for more residents trapped in these villages," Gaviola said.

As of press time, airlifting of residents from high risk areas has been going on amid continuing downpour, flooding and mudslides, he said.

Gaviola said relief operations also continued in Southern Leyte and Northern Samar provinces. "The evacuees needed more mosquito nets, sleeping mats, blankets, hygiene products, medicines, porta-lets and drinking water," he said.