Around 150 houses in the coastal communities were damaged due to strong waves brought by the southwest monsoon on Saturday.
Based on the data from the City Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), 51 houses were totally destroyed and 98 others were partially damaged.
“Those wrecked houses were old,” said CDRRMO Chief Alfredo Baloran. “The (house) posts are submerged in the water already.”
Authorities said 357 families with 800 individuals from eight barangays were affected.
The affected communities were barangays 21–C, 22–C, and 23-C in Poblacion District; Barangay Bucana (76-A), Matina Aplaya (75-A), and Bago Aplaya in Talomo District; Barangay Gov. Vicente Duterte in Agdao District, and Barangay Daliao in Toril District.
The CDRRMO said they brought the families to the evacuation areas in the barangay hall or gymnasium. Others, however, stayed at the houses of their relatives.
Baloran said no casualty was reported.
“Last month, we had a ‘pulong-pulong’ because monsoon waves occur yearly so we gave them information for preparedness. Thankfully, no one was injured,” he said.
They shared the information to the residents in the coastal areas to be wary of the monsoon waves from August to October.
Baloran also said residents may soon be permanently relocated as the construction of the coastal road is ongoing.
“We can’t force them to leave but as I see it, the construction of our coastal road is nearing so, eventually, they will have no choice but to be relocated,” Baloran said.
Since some families went back to their respective houses around noontime, first responders will continue to closely monitor the situation.
CDRRMO operations officer Rodrigo Bustillo said they have first responders on standby.
“We have told the affected residents not to return to the coasts as we are still expecting strong waves but we can’t force them to do so. But we have alerted our respondents already,” Baloran said. “We reminded them to immediately evacuate once they observe strong waves again.”
