RETRIEVAL OPERATION. Search and rescue personnel retrieve the body of a passenger of one of three capsized motorboats, near the Dumangas port between Iloilo and Negros Occidental on Sunday (Aug. 4, 2019). The vessels capsized off Iloilo Strait amid inclement weather on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Office of Civil Defense-Western Visayas)
BACOLOD CITY – The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) here has directed city and municipalities, which are located along the shorelines of Negros Occidental, to join the coast watch for missing persons in the Iloilo-Guimaras sea mishap.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, chair of PDRRMC, in an advisory on Monday, said that the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Western Visayas has requested the province to alert the local DRRM offices in these areas and provide augmentation response, including search, rescue and retrieval operations.
As of Monday afternoon, six of the 86 passengers of the three ill-fated motorboats remained missing.
A total of 28 have died while there were 52 survivors.
“Monitor your area of responsibility or conduct a coast watch for possible missing persons and immediately inform the Philippine Coast Guard or the PDRRMC Operations Center,” Lacson said.
Several localities in the southern part of Negros Occidental are located across the other side of Guimaras.
The governor also advised PDRRMC members to undertake proactive measures in giving assistance in the conduct of search, rescue and retrieval efforts.
Meanwhile, Lacson directed all city and municipal DRRMCs to heighten the preparedness status for possible effects of Tropical Storm Hanna.
He also said that all units should initiate response and precautionary measures for moderate to heavy rains that may cause flooding, flash floods, or landslides.
“Activate your respective operation centers to monitor your respective areas of responsibility, and place your respective emergency units on standby,” the governor added.
Since Saturday, residents in southern Negros have been experiencing heavy rains and winds, and flooding that damaged almost 50 houses and affected some 30 families, particularly in La Carlota City and Pontevedra town.
On Monday, classes in Bago City, Valladolid, and La Castellana were suspended due to threats of heavy rains and flooding posed by the inclement weather. (PNA)
