THE western parts of Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao continue to experience bad weather due to Habagat or southwest monsoon.
On Thursday, July 11, the southwest monsoon was first felt in Palawan, Zamboanga Peninsula, BARMM, SOCCKSARGEN, Davao Region, Misamis Occidental, and Lanao del Norte, with moderate to heavy rains amounting to 50-100 mm of rainfall.
The following day, it intensified, with heavy to intense rains amounting to 100-200 mm of rainfall in areas such as BARMM, Zamboanga Peninsula, Sultan Kudarat, Misamis Occidental, and Lanao del Norte.
According to data released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as of July 17, 36 areas were flooded, with Region 12 having the most at 15, followed by BARMM with 11, Region 9 with 9, and Region 10 with one flooded area.
In these areas, over 300 barangays are affected by the bad weather. In BARMM, over 200 barangays are affected, while in Region 12, over 100, Region 10 has 29, Region 9 has 21, and Region 11 has 13 barangays affected.
More than 99,000 families or over 400,000 individuals are affected by the bad weather.
In these numbers, the most affected are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), with over 49,000 families affected, followed by Region 12 with over 43,000, Region 9 with over 3,000, Region 10 with 2,000, and Region 11 with over 100 families affected.
Although thousands of families are affected, only over 5,000 families are temporarily taking shelter in 46 government-designated evacuation centers, while over 49,000 families chose to stay outside evacuation centers or with their relatives.
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense expressed sorrow over the news that five individuals have been confirmed dead due to the southwest monsoon.
In an interview with SMNI News, Office of Civil Defense Director Edgar Posadas stated that the cause of death for the five casualties was drowning.
“Unfortunately, we did not achieve zero casualties. Due to the southwest monsoon, we have five validated deaths, four of which are in Region 9 and one in Region 10.”
“Most of them are due to drowning or being struck by falling objects, but the majority are drowning,” Dir. Edgar Posadas, spokesperson, OCD-NDRRMC said.
Currently, according to Posadas, preparations are ongoing as they anticipate more bad weather in the coming week.
“Especially now that our LPA (Low-Pressure Area) has entered, which has increased rainfall along with possible effects of the southwest monsoon. We might experience similar conditions next week. Let’s continue to be vigilant, stay alert, and stay informed because it’s important to follow advisories,” Posadas added.
THE western parts of Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao continue to experience bad weather due to Habagat or southwest monsoon.
