Strong winds brought on by Tropical Depression Queenie slammed into 264 houses in Negros Occidental yesterday destroying 75 and damaging 189, with the bulk in Cauayan town.

Fisherman Charlie Verayo, 36, of Zone 3, Pulupandan, was injured when his boat capsized, and was brought to the Bago City Hospital at 5:15 a.m. yesterday, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Liane Garcia also said.

Hundreds of Bacolod-Iloilo-Bacolod fast craft and roll-on roll-off vessel passengers were stranded as the Coast Guard cancelled inter-island travel with storm signal number one up over Iloilo, Guimaras and Southern Negros, CPO Joemar Azuelo, of the PCG Bacolod, said.

Sea travel in Western Visayas will resume when the storm signals are lifted, he said.

Storm signal number one remained over southern Negros Occidental yesterday but most of the areas in the south were spared, with only Cauayan suffering the worst damage.

Cauayan Mayor John Rey Tabujara said strong winds yesterday morning destroyed 74 houses and damaged 186 others located in 10 coastline barangays of his town.

The houses destroyed were mostly made of light materials, Tabujara said.

Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (Neg. Occ., 6th District) who was monitoring the situation in the south, said the damage to the houses in Cauayan were caused mostly by strong winds. A twister spotted in Baranagay Linaon of the town did not make landfall, she said.

The Provincial Social Welfare Development Office (PSWDO)also reported one house destroyed and three damaged in La Castellana town.

Classes in most areas in southern Negros Occidental were suspended.

Hinobaan Mayor Ernesto Estrao and Kabankalan City Mayor Isidro Zayco said their areas were spared by Queenie, and suffered only minimal damage.

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. last night said, Typhoon Queenie was headed towards Palawan.

“Negrenses should be thankful to the Lord that minimal damage had been reported by southern Negros LGUs,” he said.

The PSWDO team is still surveying any damage in Ilog. A report from Hinoba-an said that a portion of the farm-to-market road in Barangay Asia was also damaged, he said.

The province remains under yellow alert status, which means that we continue our monitoring and assessing the extent of damage of Queenie, he said.

“To many farmers, the rains triggered by the typhoon were a blessing because there had been minimal rainfall these past weeks in the southern Negros area. The rains were a big help to small farmers especially those whose farms are not irrigated,” he said.

The Provincial government, led by the PSWDO, will deliver relief goods to southern Negros residents affected by Queenie, the governor said.*CPG

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