Rappler's data analysis of HazardHunterPH data shows that Sipalay has the most number of schools that double as evacuation centers during disasters, with a very high risk of flooding in Negros Occidental
Rappler's data analysis of HazardHunterPH data shows that Sipalay has the most number of schools that double as evacuation centers during disasters, with a very high risk of flooding in Negros Occidental
Dela Cruz was about to leave his hut to seek shelter at the nearest evacuation center – a two-hour walk from where he was – when he saw floodwaters rising. He thought his home would soon be swallowed by the water. Then he noticed that his hut stopped moving. He stepped out, only to discover that the raging waters had washed his home all the way to Tauangan, a sitio about nine kilometers away.
Dela Cruz lives in Kalatong, a low-lying area where the tributary rivers of Cabadiangan and Kalatong merge with the Sipalay River, about 900 kilometers south of Manila. Kalatong is located in Cabadiangan, the village with the highest death toll in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, during Odette. Analysis of the data from state hazard assessment portal HazardHunterPH showed that more than 380,000 people in Negros Occidental are at high risk of flooding. Overall, more than half of all residents in the province live in areas that have varying degrees of flood risk.
Unaware of just how vulnerable they are, many Sipalay City residents ignored voluntary evacuation orders ahead of Odette. Local officials said that Odette was the most powerful typhoon they experienced in recent memory. In the whole of Negros Occidental, there are only five evacuation centers, three of which are located in high-risk areas. In Sipalay, there are none; instead, the city’s health centers, government buildings, and schools double as evacuation centers during these perilous times.
NOT SPARED. Matia-ong says that the flood during Odette even reached the rooms at the evacuation center where they stayed. Photo by Reymund Titong/Rappler Another city worth taking note of is Himamaylan City in central Negros Occidental. It has only two facilities used exclusively as evacuation centers, with one facility located in a high-risk flood zone.
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