BY FELIPE CELINO
ROXAS City — A boy who was reported missing when tropical depression “Quinta” hit Capiz last month was found dead at the Panay River in Brgy. Bitoon Ilaya, Cuartero town.
The body of 16-year-old Christian Olivar of Brgy. Sto. Angel, Dumalag was half-buried in the sand and already decomposing, Danilo Baravedo, 56, of Brgy. Bitoon Ilawod, Cuartero told the police.
Baravedo said a boy discovered the body on Tuesday morning after finding a dog digging in the sand.
The victim’s father, Reynaldo, confirmed that the body was that of his son.
Christian Olivar was one of the two Dumalag residents who reportedly died of drowning amid “Quinta.” The other one was Franklin Fadriga, 34, also of Brgy. Sto. Angel.
Another victim, Jhonary Derecho of Brgy. Alabidhan, Bingawan, Iloilo, died in Tapaz, Capiz.
He drowned after a strong floodwater current swept him and his friend while they were traversing a flooded road in Brgy. Switch, Tapaz onboard a motorcycle.
His friend survived.
Eleven municipalities were placed under a state of calamity after flash floods caused by “Quinta” hit them.
They were Cuartero, Dao, Dumalag, Dumarao, Maayon, Mambusao, Panay, Panitan, Pontevedra, Sigma and Tapaz.
The number of families affected by flash floods reached 14,577, or 54,962 individuals, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Some 15,487 hectares of rice fields and 386 hectares of corn plantations were destroyed, the council said.
During the typhoon, the Metro Roxas Water District temporarily stopped providing water to households in Roxas City and Panay, Panitan and Ivisan towns.
It said it cannot treat the water from its source, the Panay River, which had been contaminated with silt. It resumed its operations a day later.
