Iloilo City Flooding Persists After Typhoon Kiyapo's Exit; 35 Barangays Affected

Floodwaters have begun to recede in several parts of Iloilo City after Tropical Cyclone Kiyapo (international name: Noul) intensified into a typhoon and exited the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), but at least 35 barangays remained flooded while more than 500 residents continued to be affected as of 6 a.m. Saturday, July 25. The Iloilo City Emergency Operations Center (ICEOC), in its Situation Report No. 3, said a total of 45 barangays had experienced flooding since the onset of heavy rains. Floodwaters have already subsided in 10 barangays, leaving 35 barangays still inundated. Authorities have placed the city’s Emergency Operations Center under Blue Alert as response operations continue. READ: Wind signals lifted as Kiyapo heads towards Southern China on Saturday The city government reported that 132 families, or 508 individuals, were affected by the flooding. Of these, 73 families composed of 221 individuals were staying inside four evacuation centers located in nine affected barangays. The evacuation centers are serving residents from Calubihan and San Vicente in Jaro; Ticud in La Paz; Alalasan and Don Esteban in Lapuz; Airport in Mandurriao; and San Antonio, Compania Central and Infante in Molo. Initial assessment by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) also showed three partially damaged houses affecting five families or 15 individuals. The damaged houses were located in Barangay Airport in Mandurriao, Barangay Compania Central in Molo, and Barangay San Vicente in Jaro. Strong winds associated with the weather disturbance also uprooted five trees, with incidents recorded in Jaro, La Paz and Mandurriao. No toppled electric posts were reported. Among the areas still experiencing flooding were portions of Arevalo, City Proper, Jaro, La Paz, Lapuz, Mandurriao and Molo, with flood depths ranging from a few inches to as much as 48 inches in parts of Ticud, La Paz. Several areas in Sinkway, Lapuz remained under 24 to 36 inches of floodwater, while Don Esteban in Lapuz and Desamparados in Jaro each recorded flood depths of 36 inches. Meanwhile, several previously flooded barangays had already reported receding waters, including Kahirupan and Ortiz in City Proper; Timawa Tanza 2 and Inday in City Proper; Bantud in La Paz; Oñate de Leon and Navais in Mandurriao; Calumpang, South San Jose and West Timawa in Molo. Rainfall during the past 12 hours remained generally light to moderate, with the highest accumulation of 11 millimeters recorded at the West Visayas State University monitoring station. Wind speeds reached up to 50 kilometers per hour at the Lapuz Depot weather station. Despite improving conditions in Iloilo, the city continued emergency operations, including 24/7 monitoring, flood surveillance, public information campaigns, evacuation assistance, declogging operations, and coordination with barangay officials and response agencies. The ICEOC also recommended the implementation of the asynchronous alternative delivery mode for students at all levels in Iloilo City on July 25 as a precaution against the lingering effects of flooding. According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Kiyapo had intensified into a typhoon before moving outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility early Saturday. READ: ‘Kiyapo’ unleashes floods across PH As of 5 a.m., the cyclone packed maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour, gusts of up to 150 kph, and was moving west-northwest at 25 kph. Strong to typhoon-force winds extended up to 470 km from the center. /das