Flooding in Leyte Island affects 53,446 persons in 104 barangays, DSWD says

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
December 30, 2011

TACLOBAN CITY  –  The December 27 flooding in Leyte Island affected 53,446 persons, about 10,669 families in eleven municipalities covering 104 barangays, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Eastern Visayas informed.

The affected municipalities in Leyte include San Miguel with 2,000 families comprising of 10,000 persons in 16 barangays; Alangalang with 300 families or 1500 persons; Abuyog with 697 families or 3,485 in 14 barangays and with 1 dead person; Tanauan with 150 families or 750 persons, one missing and another one injured; Tolosa with 100 families or 500 persons; and Javier with 1,797 families or 8,985 persons.

Also affected were 2,422 families or 12,110 persons in the municipality of Mayorga; 130 families or 650 persons in the town of Palo; and 81 families with 506 persons, and 9 totally damaged houses in the municipality of Tabontabon.

The most affected town is Dagami with 2,833 families or 14,165 persons in 26 barangays, 1 dead, and 6 injured. Abuyog, Leyte, declared the entire municipality under a State of Calamity to facilitate the use of DRRM Fund to support the affected families, damage to crops and infrastructures.

In Southern Leyte, the municipality of Saint Bernard reported 159 families or 795 persons affected. The flooding brought about by the Low Pressure Area caused the evacuation of 3,725 families in the 49 barangays of eleven municipalities, ten from Leyte and 1 from Southern Leyte.

As of 8:00 o’clock in the morning of December 29, all evacuees from Palo, Leyte, already returned to their respective houses as flooded areas have already subsided.

The evacuees from Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte already returned to their respective houses except those from Barangay Tabontabon.

As of 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon of December 29, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that 2 persons died, one person remains missing and 6 persons sustained injuries during the December 27 flooding.

Meanwhile the Department of Agriculture reported damage to agriculture but said it is ready to distribute certified seeds to affected farmers.