Iloilo city: More than 2,300 families, or about 7,000 individuals, from Iloilo City and province were affected by strong winds and heavy rains brought by Typhoon Uwan, according to disaster officials on Monday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) disaster response head Darwin Papa stated that 668 families or 2,069 residents from 20 barangays were evacuated. “Due to the shift in the wind direction towards southwest or habagat, we conducted preemptive evacuation in our coastal communities,” he mentioned in a virtual press conference.

While the evacuees were accommodated in 23 evacuation centers, the city government also prepared 427 other temporary shelters on standby in case the numbers increase. Papa added that validation is ongoing, but based on the initial report, nine houses were damaged, with seven completely destroyed.

Papa also remarked that they aim to validate not just the damage to houses but also to micro, small, and medium enterprises along the coastal area in the Arevalo district for possible assistance. “There is a possibility that they were affected, so we will see during our rapid damage needs assessment as to what we can provide,” he said. The damage to agriculture was reported to be minimal.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported that 1,663 families or 5,579 individuals were affected, with 443 families evacuated. The agency recorded 537 damaged houses, including five that were completely destroyed. One man from Janiuay town was injured after falling while fixing his roof amid strong winds.

Furthermore, 29 local government units in the province suspended work in government offices on Monday in anticipation of the impact of the weather disturbance.