As gathered by field reporters of dYRD, the concrete fence of the Guinsularan National High School in barangay Guinsularan, Duero had fallen due to the strong surge of flood water.

According to the evacuated residents of Guinsularan, it was the first that they experienced such extent of flooding where a concrete fence of a school had been damaged ad such degree; and where the traffic flow stood still for one hour as the vehicles- -even a Southern Star bus- -could not cross the flooded road.

The vehicles had to wait for one hour for the rain water covering the national highway to gradually subside.

The bigger vehicles such as trucks and three Southern Star buses that had been stranded managed to cross the flooded road ahead of the smaller vehicles.

Teachers of Guinsularan National High School also checked the classroom and saw that their materials and equipment such as computers were all wet.

The rescuers had also responded to the three residents who had to climb to the roofs of their houses when the rainwater flooded their houses.

In Alicia, the rainwater submerged the rice fields like a lake.

In barangay Panadtaran in Candijay, Barangay Captain Roly Limbanganon- -who was the one guiding the evacuees- -said the 13 families comprising 42 individuals came from sitio Tabunok that had been flooded.

The barangay captain said that sitio Tabunok is in the Carood watershed area where the water would seep through.

The flood also submerged an estimated 12 hectares of rice fields that were almost mature for harvest.

The affected residents of barangay Panadtaran had been at the evacuated centers since Monday yet.

Banana plants along the highways had also fallen, while branches and twigs of trees had also fallen on electric wirings, although the area did not experience any power interruption.

He said they would still be getting the final figures from the towns of Jagna, Carmen, Alicia, Loay, and Bilar.

There reports of landslides in barangay Lundag in Pilar and in barangay Guiwanon in Maribojoc. But these were only minor incidents, according to Damalerio.

He added that it was at the height of the tropical depression’s exit from Bohol area at 6-8 p.m. last night that the heavy rains had been experienced which resulted to floodings along highways.

In Tagbilaran, the usual flood-prone areas had, indeed, been flooded such as the Tagbilaran-Dauis Junction, the stretch of J.A. Clarin St., especially the portion near the National Irrigation Administration (NIA)-7 regional office.

Barangay Totolan in Dauis had also been flooded.

The city government team had also conducted a clearing operation to take out a fallen tree that had blocked a road in Barangay Dao.

Damalerio added that when the tropical depression was heading Bohol on Monday, Guindulman was still included among the areas to be hit and the MLGOO reported to the PDRRMO that they were planning to undertake preemptive evacuation, but it did not push through when the tracking of the tropical depression veered away from the area and was heading the northern part of Bohol.

He said they would be able to finalize the reports as to the number of evacuated families this morning.

He explained that they could not yet tell how many were those who had evacuated to evacuation centers, because some took shelter in their neighbors’ houses and in the houses of their barangay kagawads and barangay captains.

In some areas, the evacuees would immediately return to their houses when they would learn that the floods in their areas along riverbanks had subsided.

Damalerio also said that as of reporting yesterday afternoon, some Badjao families in barangay Totolan, Dauis had been evacuated to the higher ground at the barangay elementary school and basketball court, but they immediately returned home when Basyang weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression.

In Catigbian, as of 3 p.m., the quick response teams had already planned to have preemptive evacuation, but no longer pushed through as the rain became lighter.

Based on the PAGASA tracking, the heavy rainfall started at 4pm, when the eye of the tropical depression was already just 25 kilometers southeast of Tagbilaran in Loay-Valencia area.

PAGASA also noted that after its landfall in Cortes in Surigao del sur, it proceeded to the vicinity of Garcia-Hernandez in Bohol, and headed to 25 kilometers southeast of Tagbilaran, then to  Southern Cebu.

Damalerio said the quick response teams remained on red alert and continued monitoring the towns, based on the assessment of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD)-7 even when the heavy rainfall had already stopped at past 9 o’clock last night when Tropical Depression Basyang was already heading to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental and southern Cebu then.

As of 9 p.m. last night, the PDRRMO received a report from the MDRRMO of Candijay that the municipal team had an operation in barangay Boyo-an and it was not certain yet how many households would heed to the advice for preemptive evacuation.

Damalerio also said the people in the barangays are now more cooperative and responsive to any advisory from authorities whenever there is an advice for preemptive evacuation.

He attributed this to the learning experiences from Typhoons Queenie, Ruby, Seniang in the past and Typhoon Vinta last year, then Typhoon Urduja which came at the start of the year.

Damalerio added that the provincial don’t mind if it could spend on relief operation in line with the preemptive operations that have to be undertaken just to attain zero casualty in times that a weather system affects the province.