President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspects the areas affected by severe tropical storm Kristine in Batangas and Cavite on October 25, 2024. Courtesy MPC pool

CAVITE — Noveleta Mayor Dino Chua on Sunday urged the national government to send heavy equipment to the municipality, where many areas remained covered with thick mud, garbage, and debris due to the heavy flooding from Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.

Speaking with ABS-CBN News, Chua said the flow of of traffic in many parts of Noveleta has yet to return to normal, as many roads remain blocked.

He is requesting backhoes, payloaders, and additional manpower to help with the clearing operations.

“Halos lahat po, lahat po kasi, lahat ng barangay, talagang nagmistulang ilog po no’ng [umapaw] ‘yong rumaragasang ilog dito sa mga kalye naming so ang iniwan po nito ay burak at basura na galing do’n sa upland area,” Chua said in a telephone interview.

(Almost all the barangays had rivers of water running through there streets, and these left debris and trash from the upland area)

He said that the local government cannot handle the clearing operations on its own.

“Talagang napakahirap, para kaming solo flight kami rito."

(It is really difficult because it's like we're doing this alone) 

Storm Kristine leaves 85 dead, dozens missing

A drone shot from the municipality showed kilometers of heavy traffic from Barangay San Rafael to Noveleta Crossing until Magdiwang because some roads are still impassable due to thick mud.

The local government is also urging owners of vehicles left on the bridges during the flooding to retrieve them and help unclog roads.

The mayor said clearing the roads could take a week or longer, adding just hauling away the debris would require hundreds of trucks.

“Napakahirap po ng aming sitwasyon eh. Hindi po ganon kadali, kasi saan naming dadalhin ito?” he said.

(We are in a very tough situation. It's not that simple. In the first place, where do we bring this debris?)

Meanwhile, four areas in the town are still without power although water supplies and communication signals have resumed.

The local disaster monitoring office reported one death during the onslaught of the storm.

RELATED VIDEO: