CAPIZ – The Roxas City Council has placed the entire city under a state of calamity following days of torrential rains and massive flooding brought by Tropical Storm “Ramil” (international name: Fengshen).
The declaration was formalized through Resolution No. 263-2025, approved during a special session on Sunday, October 19, presided over by Vice Mayor Teresa Almalbis and attended by a majority of council members. The move followed the recommendation of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) through its earlier Resolution No. 15, series of 2025, after assessing the widespread destruction caused by the storm.
Based on the Rapid Disaster Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA) report, the heavy rains on October 18 triggered severe flooding in nearly all barangays, damaging houses, infrastructure, and farmlands, and disrupting mobility and local operations. A total of 830 families, or 2,773 individuals, were affected, while one fatality and three injuries were recorded by the Roxas City Information Division.
“It’s the first time in the history of Roxas City that almost all barangays were flooded,” said Roxas City Information Division head Melvin Galagate in a phone interview.
He noted that while floodwaters in the city proper have started to subside, several low-lying villages remain inundated.
Mayor Ronnie Dadivas, who led rescue operations on Saturday night, directed the immediate distribution of relief goods with assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which deployed 10,000 food packs to affected communities.
The storm also caused a landslide in Barangay Culasi, covering almost half of the road in Sitio Nipa, while a road section in Sitio Switch, Barangay Adlawan collapsed, destroying one house and damaging four others.
To ensure the safety and well-being of students and school personnel, Mayor Dadivas suspended classes in all levels from October 20 to 22. The suspension aims to allow families time to recover from “the distress and trauma caused by the flooding” and to give educators time to prepare alternative modes of learning in accordance with Department of Education guidelines.
Under Section 52(b) of Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, the declaration of a state of calamity authorizes local governments to utilize emergency funds, impose price controls on basic commodities, and hasten relief, rehabilitation, and recovery efforts.
As of Sunday afternoon, evacuation and cleanup operations continued in several affected areas as local authorities monitored the city’s recovery from the devastation wrought by “Ramil.”/PN
