A concrete road and seawall project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental crumbled to the storm surge brought about by Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Kung-Wong).

While several houses were destroyed, a deep hole was carved by raging seawaters on a portion of the national highway in Sitio Nagbagang, Barangay Poblacion.

The surge eroded soil and led to the collapse of a portion of the national highway rendered impassable to heavy vehicles, as of this writing.

Aside from being cordoned off to the public, a reflectorized equipment was mounted in the affected area to warn passersby especially in the evening.

The road went through repairworks in 2024 because of a previous typhoon that triggered huge waves. However, despite the thickness of the portion of the road, the project does not reportedly have a single steel bar for supposed stability.

The riprap of the seawall, though, was found to have a few steel bars on it. Following the observation, residents surmised the projects are substandard.

However, the DPWH negated the observation and cited that the projects have followed standard guidelines.

Meanwhile, several houses were destroyed by the storm surge in Santa Catalina town.

According to the situational report of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRMO), 13 houses were destroyed in Santa Catalina, while 12 were partially damaged.

In the entire province, at least 21 houses were destroyed, 31 were partially damaged, and one was slightly damaged.      

(via Vic Camion/GMA Regional TV Balitang Bisdak)