Kalingang TVI in times of need
It will take some time before people forget how tropical storm “Lawin” battered Siocon town and Canatuan in Zamboanga del Norte last September 23 and 24. Strong winds, thunder and lightning shook both Siocon and Canatuan. The unceasing rains resulted in massive flooding that submerged houses. The rampaging rivers indifferently carried away several houses, too. Trees fell and several roads were blocked by landslides that virtually isolated Siocon from its neighboring towns and the rest of Zamboanga Peninsula.
“It was the worst flooding that hit Siocon,” said Engr. Ed Nercuit, manager of the Civil Engineering Services (CES) of TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. (TVIRD). The company is currently mining copper and zinc in Canatuan. Born and raised in Siocon town, it was the first time that Ed witnessed neck-deep flood waters that caused the evacuation of more than 8,000 Siocon folk.
“It was the first destructive flood recorded in the area in six decades,” stressed Mayor Cesar Soriano of Siocon as he apprised the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Director Teodulo R. Romo Jr. of the calamity Lawin wrought to his constituents.
Despite all these, Ed Nercuit and his CES road maintenance crew worked 48 hours straight to repair the roads blocked by landslides. They dredged without relent the Pisawak spillway of debris to lessen the impact of the flood waters. Ed and his men worked unflinchingly throughout the storm. Proof of Pusong Minero and Kalingang TVI in action.
Lyle Tunday, a resident of Barangay Manaol, one of the hardest barangays hit by Lawin, was awakened by a tide that almost carried him and his family to the sea off Siocon. “Had I woken up just 10 minutes late, I wouldn’t have been able to evacuate my family to safer grounds,” Tunday said. Until now, he does not know where he got the strength to break a window so his wife and two small children could escape the surging tide. As they fled, the flood swept away their furniture and the domestic animals of neighbors. His two motorcycles were not spared by the flood.
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 Tropical Storm Lawin: The Many Faces of Devastation (1st row) An employee’s house in Canatuan was hit by landslide. (2nd row) The unceasing rains resulted to the destruction of many houses in Siocon. (3rd row) The rampaging waters from Lituban River which overflowed in barangays in Siocon like JP Brillantes indifferently tore down several other houses. (4th row) Trees fell and landslides blocked several roads in Siocon and some areas in Canatuan, too. |
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The PAG-ASA station in Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay reported that the rainfall depth from 7 a.m. of September 23 to 7 a.m. of September 24 was 227 millimeters broke recorded rainfall highs in the area.
In his report to Director Romo, Mayor Soriano said that damage to agriculture, infrastructure, houses and other structure is estimated to reach P81-M. Infrastructure accounted for the heaviest damage amounting to P30-M.
Mayor Soriano further reported that the following had various damage estimates: Mendiola bridge at P4-M; Siocon River Flood Control at P5-M; Pisawak Spillway at P3-M; Municipal paved roads at P5-M; Paved drainage Canals at P4.5-M; Sports complex at P1.2-M; school facilities and others at P8-M.
Mayor Soriano also reported that 70 percent of his town was submerged as waters from Lituban River overflowed in Barangay JP Brillantes. The Siocon Poblacion had no electricity for several days because it was submerged under two meters.
As the provincial government and Philippine National Red Cross sent disaster and relief aid to Siocon, TVIRD resolutely repaired the 85-kilometer road that connects the municipality to Zamboanga del Norte and the Peninsula to enable foodstuff and medicine to reach the flood victims.
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Ed Nercuit and his CES road maintenance crew worked 48 hours straight to repair the roads blocked by landslides and continuously dredged the Pisawak spillway of debris to lessen the impact of the flood waters. Ed and his men worked unflinchingly throughout the storm.
Ed monitored the spillway that connects Canatuan to Siocon proper and other barangays of the municipality, including the port area of Barangay Sta. Maria. The roads maintained by the CES crew all-year round were used by Provincial Governor Rolando Yebes, the Philippine Red Cross, and the DSWD to deliver food, medicine, and clothes to the victims.
“With TVIRD’s backhoe, Ed helped the Ipil Red Cross personnel cross the river. Ed and his crew also enabled the provincial government to deliver sacks of rice and sardines to the evacuation centers,” said ret. Col. Noli Navarro, TVIRD’s Security Manager who was also helping in the area.
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Meanwhile in Canatuan, TVIRD’s Community Relations and Development Office (CreDO) distributed food to 47 Subanon families who were evacuated to the Sub-Office of the Local Government of Tabayo because their houses were located in landslide-prone areas. “We want to ensure their safety,” explained TVIRD Safety Department Manager Art Abad.
The houses of two employees were affected landslides while they were working in the plant. The responsive teams from CreDO, Safety, Security, and Public Affairs departments rushed to the landslide site and evacuated the families of the two employees.
Heroes, who need neither praise nor recognition, emerge during dire times. Ed Nercuit, Bobong Valenzuela, and the whole CES crew returned to the Canatuan mine site tired, sick, but fulfilled because they rose to the occasion for the community. This is when Pusong Minero and Kalingang TVI are truly felt by the people of Siocon and Canatuan. (Lullie A. Micabalo)
