Floods stalling aid delivery; more rescue boats requested

SCARRED BATANGAS LANDSCAPE Rampaging floodwaters and debris unleashed by Severe Tropical Storm "Kristine" have washed out Bugaan Bridge which connects the towns of Laurel and Agoncillo in Batangas, in this photo taken on Saturday. Floods that have yet to subside, along with damaged road networks, are hampering the delivery of aid to many calamity areas. —RICHARD A. REYES

LEGAZPI CITY—Five days after Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine” (international name: Trami) unleashed heavy rains in the Bicol region, many towns and cities, including Camarines Sur’s economic center Naga City, remained flooded, hampering the delivery of urgently needed aid.

In a visit to Camarines Sur on Saturday morning, President Marcos said that compared with other calamity areas in Laguna, Batangas and Pampanga provinces, the water “here is not moving.’’

Aid trucks stuck

“That’s why our problem is accessibility. We have complete relief goods and equipment, but we cannot penetrate,” he said at a briefing at Naga City Hall.

As of Saturday morning, the main highways from San Fernando to Milaor towns in Camarines Sur remained under chest-deep floodwaters, forcing government responders and civic volunteers to still rely on rubber boats to reach the villages.

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the stock of relief goods in the region was running low, and that replenishments coming all the way from the Visayas would have to be delivered also by sea.

Supplies coming for the government depot in Cebu, for example, will have to be brought first to Allen, Samar, and then to Matnog port in Sorsogon, he said.

As of Saturday morning, 17 trucks loaded with about 20,000 food packs from Manila were still stuck in Milaor town, Gatchalian said.

Dr. Rosa Maria Rempillo, assistant regional director of the Department of Health Bicol, said three trucks carrying medical supplies were also not moving in Milaor.

More rubber boats

At a briefing with the President, Naga City Mayor Nelson Legacion said that aside from relief goods, more rescue boats were needed for families still trapped in flooded houses.

“There were still requests (for rescue operations) from flooded areas with chest-deep waters,” Legacion said.

Addressing evacuees at a shelter in Naga, the President said:

“You can be assured that we will not forget you and we are always thinking of ways on how to help you.”

Before Naga, Mr. Marcos also had a look at the flooded rice fields at Barangay Causip, Bula, also in Camarines Sur. —With a report from Julie M. Aurelio