Zambales death toll reaches 31

Some 31 people have already died from floods and landslides triggered by the southwest monsoon, most of them buried alive in landslides in Zambales.

1Lt. Yvonne Ricaforte, Army 24th Infantry Battalion civil-military operations officer, said 28 people died in landslides in four barangays in that province. Nineteen were from Subic town.

Twelve bodies had been recovered in Barangay Wawandue near Barangay Cawag, while seven were retrieved in Barangay San Isidro in that town, Ricaforte said.

Authorities also recovered four bodies in Barangays Aglao and Balanawan in the municipality of San Marcelino.

Five other bodies were retrieved in Barangay Malaybalay in Castillejos town.

Speaking to reporters, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Eduardo del Rosario said the failure of residents to move to safer places caused the death of these people.

“These areas are high-risk areas,” he said. “Our countrymen were advised to relocate already or resettle, but the problem is because of their financial consideration, they could not relocate and transfer to new sites. In this incident, they did not evacuate immediately despite the warning.”

Voluntary pre-evacuation must be made in disaster-prone areas to prevent loss of lives, Del Rosario said.

The Office of Civil Defense Central Luzon said 10 people were reported missing due to the southwest monsoon.

NDRRMC said the southwest monsoon has affected a total of 18,231 people or 3,751 families in 60 barangays. Of this number, 11,169 people or 2,388 families were taken to evacuation centers.

In Abra, the 53-year-old wife of a barangay chairman went missing after a boat ferrying 10 people capsized in the Abra River in Bucay town Monday night.

Mary Torres Loy along with 10 others, including her husband, swam their way out from the strong currents of the Abra River.

Police said the Torres couple and other passengers were crossing the river when the boat’s engine suddenly stopped. Abra River is one of the five largest rivers in the country.

Wednesday 25 September 2013

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/09/25/1237838/zambales-death-toll-reaches-31