[Updated] October 22-30, 2024. Tropical Storm “Kristine” (international name: Trami) brought nonstop rains to the Bicol Region, on Monday until Tuesday [October 22-23, 2024], particularly to municipalities of the Diocese of Libmanan, causing widespread flash floods in the area. The winds were not as strong, but the rain was incessant and poured heavily, affecting low-lying areas. Worst hit were the municipalities of Milaor and Minalabac. Flood waters reached the floor of the church in Milaor, something that was never seen before. Flooding was also reported in San Fernando, Sipocot, Libmanan, Del Gallego and parts of Pamplona & Pasacao. In Libmanan, the river overflowed, thereby flooding several barangays within the poblacion. The church building though, the diocesan house and the parish rectory were all spared from the flood.
Hundreds of people have been affected. Many have been displaced, and have taken refuge in evacuation centers, particularly in churches within the area, where flood waters were unable to invade. In San Fernando, flood victims took refuge at St. Benedict Diocesan Seminary, in two of its classrooms in the ground floor. The old building of the seminary itself was flooded, and seminarians had to take shelter on the second floor. Though forced and mandatory evacuations were enforced, still, many people were trapped in their houses which remained under water for several days.
The main road right at the back of the church in Milaor remained flooded for the longest time, receding only on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, and resulting in the slow movement of trucks transporting relief items. Food access was a challenge as houses became isolated because of the flood. Traffic clogged the road, preventing motorists from crossing over to nearby Naga City, causing a massive traffic jam on this side of the diocese, and which at one point reached Barangay Busak in Libmanan, several kilometers from where the flood was deepest along the highway leading further South.
Supported by its partners, Caritas Philippines, Caritas Germany, CBM Global Caritas, Miseror, and PMPI, Caritas Diocese of Libmanan (CDL) moved swiftly to assess the situation. It wasted no time in harnessing its resources to bring relief goods to families of the affected areas. Dubbed “Tabang Tugang”, its relief operations brought food items, including drinking water, to families worst hit by the tropical storm.
Augmenting its own resources, saved through “Tagama” — its stewardship program — CDL has obtained cash donations from Caritas Philippines, Caritas Manila, St. James the Greater Parish Church of the Poor Apostolate (COPA, based in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa), the Sanchez Family of Mambulo (Libmanan), and most recently the Diocese of Dumaguete in Negros Oriental.
CDL was also able to obtain donations in the form of dignity kits from two other international bodies: a) First, AusAid (Australian Aid), a brand name for the Australian government’s projects in developing countries, and through which Australia responds to emergencies such as cyclones, floods, tsunamis and earthquakes; b) second, UNFPA (The United Nations Population Fund–formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities), a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. With these donations, CDL was able to distribute dignity kits to about 1,000 women in Milaor, Minalabac, San Fernando, and Pamplona.
Aside from CDL, some parishes (e.g., St. James the Greater Parish in Libmanan, St. John the Baptist Parish in San Fernando, St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Milaor, Sts. Philip and James Parish in Minalabac), have also taken the initiative to bring aid to their parishioners affected by the flood. Rice, canned goods, noodles and medicine were distributed, supplying what CDL could no longer provide.
