Municipality of Carmen in Cebu under state of calamity after flooding

After widespread damage from floods over the weekend, the local government of the municipality of Carmen in Cebu declared a state of calamity on Monday, a report on State of the Nation said.

Ten people died from Carmen, Danao, and Alcoy, the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said. Eight of the fatalities were from Carmen, GMA News' Jun Veneracion reported.

More than 70 families lost their homes. Ten thousand individuals were evacuated.

The heavy rains started on Black Saturday and tragedy struck on Easter Sunday.

Homes were submerged, fields were flattened, and trees were uprooted after the river in Brgy. Poblacion in Carmen overflowed its banks.

Relatives of those who died were overcome with grief, a report on Unang Balita on Tuesday said.

The local disaster risk reduction and management office said the tragedy may have been avoided if the residents were evacuated early enough. However, they said there was not enough warning from PAGASA.

PAGASA Cebu on the other hand said that what happened was a cloudburst phenomenon that brought 62.8 millimeters of rain volume in three hours. It said it happens rarely, and they cannot predict when it will happen.

It added that one hour before the cloudburst, they issued a thunderstorm advisory.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on the other hand said that as early as Thursday, April 13, it issued a warning that a low-pressure area may bring landslides and rains.

The local government is continuing to provide assistance to affected residents.

It also said that it is planning to relocate the residents living near the river to avoid another similar tragedy in the future. —KG, GMA News