Over 600 flee as flooding, landslides hit Southern Mindanao

DAVAO CITY—Hundreds fled their homes as several villages in Southern Mindanao were flooded due to moderate to heavy rains dumped by the trough of a low-pressure area since Friday, disaster management officials said on Saturday.

The Office of Civil Defense in Davao region said at least 37 individuals were moved to safer grounds in Abejod and Mainit villages in Cateel town, Davao Oriental late Friday due to the threat of flooding.

Davao Oriental Gov. Nelson Dayanghirang has ordered the activation of the incident command system to respond to the situation, according to Karen Deloso, provincial information officer.

Soldiers and disaster response personnel also rescued several individuals in Alegria village past 10 p.m. Friday as the water level of Aragon Dam rose to the warning level of 19.6 meters, threatening floods in surrounding communities, said Deloso in a statement.

She said the provincial government had sent food packs and other relief goods to affected communities.

Several landslides were also reported, including one in Ngan village, in Compostela town, Compostela Valley. The landslide cut the Cateel-Compostela road off to traffic, Franz Irag, OCD 11 operations officer, said.

He said heavy equipment has been sent to clear the landslide-hit areas.

Minor slides were also reported in Sibahay and Poblacion villages in Boston town, also in Davao Oriental, said Leslie Francisco, OCD XI spokesperson. No damage or injuries have been reported so far.

In Compostela Valley, some 572 persons were evacuated in Nabunturan, Laak, Compostela, and Monkayo towns due to flooding and threats of landslides, Francisco said.

In Davao del Norte, preemptive evacuations were also ordered as six villages in Asuncion town were flooded. The villages were Napungas, Dona Andrea, Concepcion, Sagayen, Canatan, and Cabaywa, the provincial disaster risk reduction management office said.

As of 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, a portion of the national road from Dona Andrea to Sagayen was unpassable to light vehicles due to flooding, the PDRRMO, quoting Asuncion disaster officials, said in a statement.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration has hoisted an orange rainfall alert over the three Southern Mindanao provinces shortly before noon Friday as moderate to heavy rains fell for hours./lzb