PUERTO Princesa City and the municipalities of Narra and Aborlan, Palawan, have declared a state of calamity due to flooding caused by shear line-induced rains.
Puerto Princesa City and Narra made the declaration through resolutions approved by their city and municipal councils last Wednesday.
Aborlan declared a state of calamity last Tuesday, also by virtue of a resolution passed by its council.
In declaring the state of calamity, the Puerto Princesa City Council said the weather disturbance has caused significant disruption to the daily lives of residents, including the loss of properties and damage to infrastructure and livelihood.
Five people died in the city when the van they were riding was swept away by a strong current while crossing a flooded road. Seven other passengers of the van were rescued.
The Narra municipal council, in the resolution, said the flooding has caused “significant damage” to the local agriculture sector, “threatening the livelihood and food security of many residents.”
It said the rains have caused flooding in 20 barangays, displacing 612 families or 2,086 individuals.
On its Facebook page, the municipality of Aborlan said the declaration of a state of calamity was “in response to the significant damage caused by heavy rains and flooding brought by La Niña phenomenon and shear line.”
With the declarations, Puerto Princesa City, Narra and Aborlan may now access their emergency funds to extend further assistance to those affected and for rehabilitation purposes.
Jerry Alili, head of the Palawan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the number of evacuees is down to 528 people as of Wednesday night. He said the number may further go down as the weather condition has already improved.
He said the flooding has damaged 61 houses — 52 “partially damaged” and nine “totally damaged.”
Alili said some areas in Puerto Princesa City were still flooded as of yesterday.
