Bayawan rescuer found dead

CEBU, Philippines - The body of a policeman who went missing during a search-and-rescue operation in Bayawan City Sunday was found floating at sea off Barangay Caranoche in the neighboring Sta. Catalina town yesterday.

Caranoche barangay captain Alfonso Ulam said the body of PO1 Rodelyn Gonzaga was found early morning off Sitio Pacifica by a certain Randy Salvero. The body was brought to the Bayawan District Hospital to no avail.

Gonzaga was reported to have been separated from a lifeline around 2:30 p.m. while attempting to rescue some trapped residents at Sitio Punong, Barangay Villareal in Bayawan City, said Sr. Insp. Nenette Vibares, chief of the Bayawan Police.

 Gonzaga was hit by waves and strong current from flood waters that had spilled over from the Banga River that had overflowed, changed course and sealed off access to the Bayawan City proper.

 Gonzaga was among the 72 members of the Special Counter Operations Unit Training (SCOUT) Class 40-2013 that were deployed Sunday to help in the rescue operations. All 72 are swimmers, with eight of them females and nurses at the same time, said Sr. Insp. Dexter Calacar, training manager of the PNP's Regional Special Training Unit-7 in Central Visayas.

 Continuous and heavy rains for the past 24 hours inundated a large part of the Bayawan City proper in southern Negros Oriental.

Meanwhile, several rescue groups have been deployed to Bayawan City to prioritize the rescue and retrieval of thousands of residents still trapped in their homes after an estimated 80 percent of the city proper was submerged in flood waters that rose as high as the knee up to the waist.

 In some other areas, residents were reported to have gone up to the second floor of their homes, or climbed up the roofs of their houses or trees.

 Among the rescue groups that are now in Bayawan City include the Negros Oriental Search and Rescue (NOSAR), the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, the San Jose Rescue Group, the Silliman University volunteer rescue group, the Amlan rescue group and Task Force SAGARR of Dumaguete City.

 Also, the Philippine Army and the PNP deployed augmentation troops to assist in the rescue operations that continued way until late Sunday as many people were still stranded inside their residences that are submerged in flood waters.

 Rubber boats, life vests and other rescue equipment were also brought in, but access to the city proper was hampered by the change of course of the Banga River.

In Negros Occidental, floods due to continuous heavy rains for four days displaced about 50,000 residents in eight towns and four cities.

 The affected local government units include Ilog, Hinobaan, Isabela, Hinigaran, San Enrique, Candoni, Moises Padilla, and Cauayan; and the cities of Kabankalan, Sipalay, Himamaylan, and La Carlota.

 The Provincial Disaster Management Program Division and the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) have recorded the following data as of 12 noon yesterday:

Ilog-11 brgys., 5,634 families or 28,170 persons

Hinobaan-9 barangays, 986 families or 4, 430 persons

Isabela-2 brygs., 100 families or 399 persons

Hinigaran-6 brgys., 540 families or 2,275 persons

San Enrique- 4 brgys., 1, 852 families or 9,260 persons

Kabankalan City-5 brgys., 147 families or 5,634 persons

Sipalay City-5 brgys., 137 families or 582 persons

Himamaylan City-3 brgys., 8 families or 49 persons

La Carlota City-3 brgys, 42 families or 173 persons

No one was displaced in the towns of Candoni, Moises Padilla, and Cauayan rice plantations and fisheries were damaged.

 As of 4 p.m. yesterday, damage to rice plantations was estimated at P36,527,320 for 10 local government units (LGUs), while damage to fisheries was estimated at P314,285 for three LGUs, according to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.

Landslides were also reported in Don Salvador Benedicto and La Castellana towns and in highways leading to the southernmost town of Hinobaan.

In Salvador Benedicto town, heavy rains on Sunday caused landslides in three areas - Talos, Spur 13 and Kudyawan, causing the highway to be impassable for about three hours.

Landslides were also reported in the mountain villages of La Castellana while the City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office also reported about seven landslide incidents in the highway from the city to Hinobaan.

Provincial Social Welfare Officer Liane Garcia said the provincial government has given food assistance to the affected areas.

The heavy rains were brought by the southwest monsoon and the inter-tropical convergence zone, not by a typhoon, according to John Eric Villaluna, officer- in- charge of the PDMPD. — /JMO (FREEMAN)