At least four houses were destroyed and 126 others were damaged by strong waves that struck several coastal barangays in Caramoran and San Andres towns last Feb. 21 and 22, 2023, disaster management officials reported.
In its final report on the incident, the Caramoran Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) headed by Gener Torzar disclosed that four houses were destroyed and 79 homes were damaged in the incident that occurred in the evening of Feb. 21, affecting a total of 264 families consisting of 910 persons in five coastal barangays.
Of this number, 444 persons comprising 103 families were displaced and had to leave their homes temporarily until the flood of sea water subsided.
Here’s the number of affected population: Dariao, 78 families (186 persons); Tubli, 46 families (186 persons); Guiamlong, 21 families (85 persons); Sabangan, 82 families (346 persons); and Toytoy, 37 families (178 persons).
The Provincial DRRMO, in coordination with Mayor Glenda Aguilar and the MDRRMO, immediately sent relief packs to the affected barangays.
Of the damage to residential areas, three houses were totally damaged in Dariao, with the other one in Tubli.
Forty-five (45) houses were damaged in Tubli, 15 in Sabangan, 10 in Toytoy, five (5) in Guiamblong and four (4) in Dariao, the same report said.
In San Andres, the unusually high waves at 8 AM of Feb. 22 eroded the sandy berm protecting the residential area on the beach front of Purok 7 in Mayngaway, exposing the roots of coconut trees and wreaking damage on 20 houses.
Barangay captain Lilia Gianan immediately reported the incident to Mayor Leo Mendoza and the MDRRMO, which responded an hour later and, together with the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) provided food packs and hygiene kits to the affected families.
Personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), MDRRMO, Municipal Engineering Office and the barangay council conducted clearing and sandbagging operations together with the residents.
Roberto Monterola of the PDRRMO Operations Center told the Tribune that the tidal surge is the first to occur along the coastal areas of the province fronting the Maqueda Channel.
The last time this happened anywhere else on the island was in Bagamanoc poblacion several years ago, he recalled. A seawall has since been constructed to protect the barangays adjoining the municipal hall, with a 100-meter section of the shore still waiting for funding.
Catanduanes has been under a gale warning since Feb. 15 based on twice-daily advisories issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
At 5 AM of Feb. 21 and 5 PM of Feb. 22, the weather agency forecast strong to gale-force winds of 45 to 71 kilometers per hour along with rough to very rough seas of 2.8 to 5.5 meters high.
According to data from the National Mapping and Resource Information Agency (NAMRIA), which publishes tide tables, as well as other sources, the predicted high tides in Legazpi City, which is closest to Catanduanes, were 1.62 meters at 5:45 PM on Feb. 20 on the new moon, 1.62 meters at 6:30 PM on Feb. 21 and 1.55 meters at 7:08 AM on Feb. 22.
Information provided by local disaster managers state that all five barangays in Caramoran have seawalls but the one is Dariao covers only one-fourth of the beach front.
On the other hand, the area in Mayngaway that sustained damage from the tidal surge was virtually unprotected.
Based on data from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), only P100 million of the P2.8 billion infrastructure budget of the Catanduanes DEO for 2023 is allocated for seawalls.
These are in Comagaycay in San Andres (P50 million), Batalay in Bato (P30 million), District I in Gigmoto (P10 million) and Soboc in Viga (P10 million).
The funding for seawall construction is one of the smallest in the 2023 budget alongside bridge repair, road widening and drainage construction.