MISHAP. A capsized boat in Pintuyan, Southern Leyte from which two fishermen died on Dec. 25. At least four persons have died while seven others remained missing due to a shear line that affected Leyte and Samar provinces during the holidays, the Philippine National Police said on Tuesday (Dec. 27, 2022). (Photo courtesy of Pintuyan police station)
TACLOBAN CITY – At least four persons died while seven others remained missing due to a shear line that affected Leyte and Samar provinces during the holidays, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.
The PNP regional office reported that two were confirmed dead in Pintuyan, Southern Leyte, and one each in the towns of Bobon and San Jose in Northern Samar.
The two fishermen in Pintuyan died on Dec. 25 when their fishing boat capsized off the coast of Manglit village. Six of their companions survived the mishap.
The other two fishermen in Northern Samar died after their boat capsized due to rough seas.
There are two missing persons each in the towns of Sulat in Eastern Samar and Palapag in Northern Samar.
Quinapondan in Eastern Samar; Palapag, San Roque; and Laoang towns in Northern Samar also each reported one missing person.
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) regional office information officer Sher Ryssia Saises said the reported casualties must go through the validation process.
“Most of our casualties and missing persons are fishermen who left their communities days before the issuance of notice to mariners prohibiting small sea vessels from venturing into the sea,” Saises said in a phone interview.
Since last week, a shear line has been affecting Eastern Visayas and caused cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rain showers and thunderstorms.
“The weather has improved on Tuesday, but we continue to monitor the situation to ensure safe holiday revelries in the region,” Saises added.
Shear line is the convergence of northeasterly and easterly winds that forms rain clouds.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways has heightened its watch on flood and landslide-prone road sections as bad weather dumped heavy rains in the province during holidays.
DPWH Eastern Samar district engineering office chief Margarita Junia said monitoring is centered on areas with a history of mudslides and flooding that lead to road closures.
The DPWH field office reported landslides in San Miguel and Cansilides villages in Hernani Eastern Samar on Christmas Eve. On the same day, heavy flooding closed the major road in Bigo village, Arteche town.
The road was cleared within a few hours after the incidents, Junia said.
“As of Tuesday, all roads are passable to all types of vehicles. Floods subsided and all landslides were already cleared, but we are still monitoring the situation,” Junia said.
The DPWH also regularly checks the 1.7-kilometer section of Paranas-Taft-Borongan Road, which is highly vulnerable to rockfall within the road network that links the provincial capitals of Catbalogan City in Samar and Borongan City in Eastern Samar.
The DPWH district office has been running 24-hour motorists assistance under its Lakbay Alalay program in observance of the holiday season.
The DPWH runs its Lakbay Alalay program on Dec. 23 to Dec. 26, 2022 and will resume on Dec. 29, 2022 until Jan. 2, 2023.
“We ensure that all national roads and bridges in the province are well-maintained and passable to all types of vehicles during the holidays,” Junia said. (PNA)
