Over 600-K affected by shear line in Davao

OVER 600,000 individuals in the Davao Region were impacted by the shear line, according to an official from the Office of Civil Defense-Davao Region (OCD-Davao).

During the Kapehan sa Dabaw session on Monday morning, January 22, 2024, Ednar Dayanghirang, the regional director of OCD-Davao, disclosed the unprecedented damage and extent of the shear line, emphasizing the need to address issues related to landslides and floods in the region.

“The magnitude of the shear line or the flooding, the rains, is unprecedented. First-time nga [that] almost 600,000 people have been affected,” he said.

He called for serious consideration of why such disasters are occurring and how communities can move forward.

In OCD-Davao’s progress report No. 6 on the effects of the shear line issued on January 21, 2024, out of the 606,483 affected individuals, 92,652 were from Davao de Oro, 349,589 from Davao del Norte, 5,560 from Davao Occidental, 149,811 from Davao Oriental, 98 from Davao del Sur, and 8,773 from Davao City.

Dayanghirang said that the agriculture sector suffered over P50 million in damages, while infrastructure incurred around P25 million in damages.

He said that the damage to infrastructure is less compared to agriculture due to flooding.

Davao del Norte’s agriculture was heavily affected by flooding, while Davao de Oro faced landslide issues.

A total of 104 road sections and 19 bridges were affected by the shear line, with 37 roads and 14 bridges still impassable in the region.

Davao Oriental and Davao de Oro reported 161 damaged houses.

OCD-Davao provided approximately P49,576,273.1 in assistance, including drugs, medicine, family food packs, family kits, hygiene kits, modular tents, sleeping kits, and vaccines.

OCD-Davao plans to conduct a region-wide flooding dialogue involving all stakeholders in Davao Region.

Dayanghirang is in discussions with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to realign projects with disaster prevention efforts, emphasizing the need for collaboration instead of blaming each other.