FLOODS ....

sachets of coffee.

Affected households have sought refuge in the dry homes of relatives, receiving food packs there since even evacuation centers in public school buildings were also inundated.

The Sangguniang Bayan of Veruela has placed the town in a state of calamity through Resolution No. 199 Series of 2024.

Mayor Myrna Mondejar issued a memorandum extending the suspension of classes at all levels in both public and private schools and work in government offices in the heavily affected villages of Binongan, Poblacion, and San

Gabriel.

The order will remain in effect until floodwaters recede. As of Friday, there were no plans to lift the suspension, which started on Wednesday.

“This is the worst flooding we’ve experienced in a decade,” Bonita said in a mobile phone interview with Mindanews. He said 70-80 percent of the floodwaters originate from higher areas in the Magdiwata Mountain Range in neighboring Davao de Oro province.

He said the continuous heavy rains have caused a significant amount of water to cascade into the Agusan Marsh as a catchment area. “We absorb all the flood waters coming from the mountain,” he explained.

He added that while agriindustrial development, particularly banana plantations, may have boosted the economy in the neighboring towns of Davao de Oro, it has also led to severe flooding in the towns of Agusan del Sur located along the banks of the Agusan River and the marshland.

The flooded villages included San Gabriel, Binongan, Poblacion, La Fortuna, Don Mateo, Magsaysay, Sampaguita, Sinobong, Del Monte, Limot, Sta. Emilia, and Bacay II.

Several road networks remained impassable in the affected areas of the national highway.

The secondary national highway connecting Bunawan town and Veruela was not passable even for large trucks.

The national highway connecting Barangay Katipunan in Veruela and Barangay Binucayan in Loreto town was only accessible to single motorcycles due to a portion of the road being washed out by a landslide.

Bonita warned it was not safe for any type of vehicle to use the Sitio Palo bridge in the Poblacion, as it could be swept away by the rampaging floodwaters.