Floods displace 83,000 families in Davao Region

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 January) – Floods brought by heavy rains due to a shear line have uprooted a total of 83,158 families or 349,183 individuals in Davao Region, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) regional office.

OCD-Davao Region spokesperson Franz Irag said that as of Friday, 3,648 families or 14,685 individuals were staying in evacuation centers – 864 families or 4,953 individuals in Davao de Oro; 2,222 families or 7,903 individuals in Davao del Norte; 159 families or 596 individuals in Davao Occidental; and 403 families or 1,260 individuals in Davao Oriental.

Irag said the weather system affected a total of 95 barangays in the region.

He said three houses were totally damaged and 13 were partially damaged in Davao Oriental.

On Thursday, a family of seven (five children and their parents) died in a landslide in the gold-rich Mount Diwata in Monkayo, Davao de Oro, he said.

He added that one person was injured in a landslide in Napnapan, Pantukan town, while another one was injured due to flooding in New Albay, Maragusan town. Both towns are in Davao de Oro.

He said the landslides occurred in 52 barangays of the region, 44 in Davao de Oro, and eight in Davao Oriental.

MindaNews asked Irag if there were individuals reported missing due to the landslides but he had yet to respond as of 3:26 p.m. Friday.

He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Davao distributed a total of 21,203 family food packs amounting to P13,670,534 to the affected families; 60 packs of 5kg rice amounting to P14,000 from the local government unit (LGU) of Caraga, Davao Oriental;

Family food packs amounting to ₱130,000.00 from LGU Asuncion; family food packs amounting to ₱119,500.00 from LGU Kapalong; family food packs amounting to ₱487,920.00 from LGU Tagum City; and family food packs amounting to from ₱15,000.00 from LGU San Isidro, all in Davao del Norte.

12 villages in Agusan submerged in waters

The inland town of Veruela in Agusan del Sur has remained submerged after enduring four consecutive days of relentless rainfall brought by a shear line, affecting 12 of its 20 villages.

Clyde Bonita, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) Officer, reported that water from the Agusan River began to overflow on Monday night, engulfing the low-lying villages.

Since land vehicles could not pass through the flood waters rescue teams from the MDRRM Office, local police, and the 60th Infantry Battalion had to use motorized bancas to deliver relief goods such as 5-kilogram bags of rice, canned sardines, meat loaves, corned beef, and