Tropical Depression Verbena lashed parts of Central Visayas and the Negros Island Region with heavy rains, forcing thousands to evacuate and activating large-scale disaster response operations on Tuesday, November 25.
In Central Visayas, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported that the storm made landfall in Jagna, Bohol on Monday night and immediately flooded the towns of Tubigon, Antiquera, Cortes, and Corella in Bohol, as well as Carcar, Barili, Dumanjug, and Ronda in Cebu.
OCD-7 Director Joel Erestain said all floodwaters later receded and confirmed that the region recorded no casualties or major infrastructure damage.
He stressed, however, that many residents still feel the trauma of Typhoon Tino since communities have not yet completed clearing operations from previous storms.
Erestain praised provincial disaster teams for carrying out efficient preemptive evacuations and rapid response measures.
He added that the government already prepositioned food and non-food supplies across the region and that crews continue to restore power in areas that experienced outages.
Thousands displaced
In Bacolod City, located in the Negros Island Region (NIR), torrential rains from Verbena forced at least 8,375 individuals from 2,543 families to evacuate to nearly 60 centers across about 30 barangays on Tuesday, according to the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD).
Barangay Singcang-Airport recorded the heaviest impact. Floodwaters in Purok Mars reached ceiling height, sending residents onto rooftops as they waited for rescue teams. Rising water levels rendered 11 roads impassable, but responders cleared the routes after the floods subsided.
City officials said nonstop rains between 6am and 8am caused major riverways to overflow and pushed floodwaters into nearby communities.
Some residents evacuated early on their own, while rescue teams assisted others who stayed behind until water entered their homes, authorities said.
The city government distributed relief supplies to displaced families, particularly in Purok Mars, and began preparing additional food packs for evacuation centers.
Flooding also affected portions of many barangays, including Bata, Banago, Mansilingan, Pahanocoy, Taculing, Mandalagan, Estefania, Villamonte, Alijis, Tangub, Sum-ag, and several numbered barangays.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.