Sibalom, San Remigio towns in Antique worst hit by Frank
More than half of the 597 barangays in the province of Antique are now suffering from the devastation caused by typhoon Frank. As of June 24 a total of 22, 048 families are affected. According to the reports from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, there are already 25 casualties, 15 injured and 58 missing persons.
According to Mr. Boyet Train, head of Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, the cadavers recovered showed that the casualties did not just die of drowning but have cracked skulls and bones. Train said that logs which now abound in the shorelines of Belison and Barbaza and in rivers may have caused the death of the said persons. However, the origin of the said logs is not still determined.
The towns of Sibalom and San Remigio suffered the worst. The seat of town of Sibalom itself was flooded, and in some areas the water rose to more than six feet, which submerged almost the whole area. The barangays near the Sibalom river however, have suffered terribly, from barangay Bugo in San Remegio down to Rombang, Sibalom. The muddy water engulfed houses and everything it passes, the concrete highway which stretched from Bongsod, Sibalom to the Pangpang bridge was washed out, making the traffic of food and medicines to the victims in the northern part of the province slow.
As of yesterday, barangay Bugo is still inaccessible, the bridge going there is damaged and deployment of relief goods is hard.
On the other hand, Mr. Nicolasito Calawag, Provincial Agriculturist, said that the initial agricultural damage is estimated at 2,000 ha. or 80 million pesos. This however may be doubled or even tripled, said Calawag. Nonetheless, unless the damaged agricultural land will rise to 3000 ha., the province can still retain its surplus status of rice production, he added. In addition, NFA has already requested rice from Kalibo and according to them, 23,000 bags will be coming here. Moreover, Calawag said that most of the town from Bugasong northward suffers much damage in terms of agriculture. Also, The National Irrigation Administration estimated a total of 58.4 million pesos of damage in communal and national irrigation system.
In healthcare, only the Ramon Maza Sr. Memorial District Hospital in Sibalom suffered, the other seven hospitals here are still working and operational, said Dr. Ric Noel Naciongayo. According to Dr. Gilfred Jardenil, head of the said hospital, floodwater engulfed the hospital and the patients flee to the nearby Santa Rita Church for safety. The one meter high flood left the hospital in mud puddle, Jardenil estimated that the hospital may resume in one week time.
On the other hand, massive relief operation is now being undertaken, spearheaded by Gov. Sally Z. Perez and Vice Gov. Rhodora Cadiao, thru the NFA, the provincial government was able to deliver 500 bags of rice throughout the province. Sen. Loren Legarda has already gave her commitment to help and she may come here sometime next week to see the situation, said Gov. Perez. (pio_antique)