The Department of Interior and the Local Government has stepped up its efforts to coordinate the delivery of government services in western Visayas as it continues to assess the damage resulting from the onslaught of tropical Storm Quinta (international codename: Wukong).

Interior Undersecretaries Rafael Antonio Santos and Austere Panadero—acting on orders of Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd—said that they have instructed director Evelyn Trompeta of the Region VI Interior department, to continue working with the local government units heads in the region to obtain reports on the impact of Quinta in their respective jurisdiction.

Santos said that initial reports coming from the department’s regional office said that as of 3 p.m. on Thursday, four persons were confirmed dead, while a total of 2,431 families were affected by Quinta.

He added that floods also left roads in Capiz impassable such as the Mambusao-Jamindan Road, Dao-Manhoy-Cuartero Road and Pototan-Duenas-Zarraga road, impassable.

Santos said that there is no power supply in Capiz, Aklan province, as well as the second, third, fourth and fifth districts of Iloilo province.

He added that search and rescue operations evacuation are ongoing in the towns of Dumalag, Dao and Mambusao in Capiz. The Armed Forces of the Philippines also sent choppers to assist in the rescue.

Santos said that the Interior agency will continue to monitor the situation in Panay Island even if the rains have stopped and floodwaters subsided.

He added it is important that the department gets regular updates from the field so the government can deliver the necessary assistance to them.

In the same manner, the Interior body wants to gather information on the damage to property, especially public infrastructure, so that the department can relay this to the Interior main office, Santos said.