Family of 4 perish in Davao landslide

DAVAO CITY: A family of four perished in a landslide incident early Friday morning in Sitio Patel, Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, Davao del Norte.

The victims were identified as Julius Loon, 45 years old; his wife Josi, 48; and children Jeannie, 14; and Jamaica, 11.

The Kapalong Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) reported that the victim’s house was buried by the landslide while they were asleep.

Rescuers from the MDRRMC and Bureau of Fire Protection in Kapalong traveled more than 60 kilometers of mountainous terrain to reach the area, and conduct search and retrieval operations.

The bodies were recovered at around 5 p.m of the same day.

Davao Region has been battered by continuous rain in the past few days.

The casualty count from the Davao Region landslides and flash floods has reached 10 dead and one missing on Thursday.

Seven residents in Maragusan, Davao de Oro, were also reportedly injured during the landslide.

Two of the casualties separately drowned from the flood in New Bataan and Pantukan in Davao de Oro.

The other four casualties died due to landslides in Maragusan and New Bataan.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 11 earlier reported that 262 barangay (villages) across the region were severely affected by the flood and landslide due to nonstop rain.

At least 278,000 individuals or 72,000 families have been affected by the weather disturbance across the region.

On Saturday, the OCD reported that 52 roads and eight bridges in Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental have been declared not passable for light vehicles due to flood and landslide.