BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – A five-year-old boy drowned. He was swept away by floodwaters bought about by torrential rains at Hillside Subdivision in Barangay Mansilingan yesterday afternoon.
As of press time, authorities have yet to release the boy’s name but confirmed he was a resident of Purok Mabinuligon of the said barangay.
From what the Police Station 7 so far gathered, the boy, his 10-year-old brother and a friend decided to take a bath in the rain.
As they were walking, the boy supposedly fell into an open manhole.
Rescue groups and even personnel from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office of Negros Occidental initiated a search and rescue operation.
It took them two hours and 30 minutes to find the boy – already dead some 200 meters from where he fell.
Several areas of Bacolod City experienced flooding due to yesterday’s heavy rains caused by localized thunderstorms, according to the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO).
Mayor Evelio Leonardia directed the DRRMO to continuously monitor the situation although much of the floodwaters receded after the rains stopped.
He also reminded officials of communities situated near creeks, rivers, coastal areas and other waterways to be on high alert in times like these.
“I am reiterating my call to all village officials and organic staff and volunteers of DRRMO units to continuously monitor flood-prone areas,” said Leonardia.
Prepare for preemptive evacuation when necessary, he added./PN
