Floods hit Oriental Mindoro towns

SAN PEDRO CITY –– Heavy rains on Saturday flooded several towns in Puerto Galera and San Teodoro in Oriental Mindoro.

In the beach town of Puerto Galera, floodwaters rose near the Tamaraw Falls, a tourist destination, said Mark Victore of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) in Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.

“We just got off the phone with the provincial (DRRMC) and they said other villages were also affected. They’re still in the area getting more information,” he said in a phone interview around noon.

The DRRMC said there was no typhoon, but heavy rains were reported in the uphill areas of the island province.

“It’s the water that came down the mountains that flooded (the communities),” he said./lzb