ILOILO – Tropical Storm “Verbena” and a shear line disrupted the lives of more than 35,000 Western Visayans but left the region largely unscathed, with disaster officials reporting minimal damage to homes and no casualties despite widespread flooding.
RDRRMC 6’s Situational Report No. 3 as of 4 a.m. Wednesday, November 26 recorded 11,860 affected families or 35,855 persons across 107 barangays in Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo, and Antique.
Of the total, 1,296 families (3,748 persons) sought refuge in 53 evacuation centers, while 390 families (1,281 persons) received assistance outside evacuation sites.
Capiz bore the brunt of the weather disturbance with 10,182 families affected, followed by Aklan with 1,123 families, Iloilo with 553, and Antique with two.
Damage to properties remained low: only 85 houses were reported damaged — five totally and 80 partially — mostly in Aklan and Capiz.
Twenty-four road sections were briefly impassable on Tuesday morning due to flooding but reopened once the rains subsided. No injuries, deaths, government infrastructure damage, or livelihood losses were recorded.
Atty. Melissa Banias, chief of the Operations Section of the Office of the Civil Defense Region 6, said the region was spared from major destruction.
“Minimal or gamay ang ginbilin nga damage sang tropical depression sa region bangod nga indi man tuman kabaskug sang hangin nga dala sini,” she said, citing the storm’s weaker winds and the LGUs’ early preparedness.
Relief Assistance
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released P134,306 worth of assistance to families in Aklan (P39,926) and Iloilo (P94,380).
DSWD Region 6 maintains P78.78 million in standby relief resources, consisting of P2.79 million in standby funds and P75.99 million worth of food and non-food items./PN
