SAN JOSE De BUENAVISTA, Antique — The Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) is now closely monitoring the seven high-risk municipalities as the rainy season is about to start.
PDRRMO head Broderick Train said in an interview on Thursday that they are closely monitoring the upland towns of Valderrama, San Remigio, Sibalom and the coastal towns of Hamtic, Culasi, Barbaza and Bugasong because of the frequent occurrence of flash flood and flooding there.
“Last Friday, there was already one casualty due to the flashflood in Hamtic,”he said.
He said that his office has still to get the incident report from their municipal counterpart on the details of the casualty.
Likewise, Train said that per report he received June 5, the body of Roberto Delos Santos, 58 years old, was recovered by his fellow fishermen after he drowned in the seawaters of Culasi.
There was also a group of local excursionists, who were rescued in the coastal waters of Patnongon town after their boat was battered by enormous waves due to the southwest monsoon winds.
Train said that the PDRRMO, to closely monitor the municipalities, is strengthening its collaboration with the local DRRMOs and other agencies.
“We have the unified communication system with the communication center here at the PDRRMO,” he said.
The unified communication system is hooked up with the VHF radio repeater system of local government units from northern Tibiao town to southernmost Anini-y for an efficient reporting and emergency response.
The radio operators of these towns have their 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. radio check to ensure that they are on standby to receive relayed messages.
“The towns of Libertad and Valderrama are still working out to have their antennas installed to become part of this communication system,” Train said.
Train said that they are also having inventory of the equipment of the local DRRMOs so they would know the resources that could be used during emergencies. (Annabel Consuelo Petinglay/PNA)
