A backhoe sent by the Dumaguete City government on Dec. 21, 2011 works on clearing the clogged culverts of the spillway in Brgy. Candau-ay, the hardest hit village in Dumaguete where 350 households were displaced. The typhoon triggered flash floods, bringing with it debris that clogged the culverts and caused the spillway to overflow into the nearby homes within Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity. Residents living in the low-cost housing sites, which are situated along the spillway, recall seeing the water level from the spillway start to rise at around 9:00 a.m. of Saturday, Dec. 17, and reaching 10 feet high. Two houses in the Gawad Kalinga site were washed away by the raging waters. (Photo by Rachelle Nessia/PIA) |
