CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Vehicular traffic ground to a halt on Friday (Dec. 18) in Agusan del Sur after parts of Maharlika Highway were submerged in floodwaters following two days of nonstop rains brought by Tropical Depression Vicky.
As of 8 p.m. on Friday, Vicky was tracked over the municipality of Esperanza, dumping inches of rains across the landlocked province.
In Rosario town, a Ford van was filmed by a netizen being carried by rampaging floodwater.
Brig. Gen. Allan Hambala, commander of the Army’s 401st Infantry Brigade, said authorities have not counted the number of residents who have been rescued so far by the Army.
Hambala said rescue operations were still ongoing as of 7 p.m. Friday.
He said soldiers have to wade through neck-deep floodwaters to reach trapped residents in Rosario town.
Hambala said communication with Rosario was cut off after he lost contact with his field rescue commander.
“I hope he and his company are taking shelter on high ground because every report we received from the field is very bad,” Hambala said.
Local businessman Napoleon Mallari said floodwaters hit two villages hard in the town of San Francisco.
Mallari said the water around the rotunda of San Francisco town was waist-deep, stalling motorcycles and small vehicles.
He said he tried to go to Rosario town but stopped after the waters reached the hood of his pickup truck.
Mallari said he later saw a black Ford van being swept off the road by the rushing waters.
“It was a scary sight. My knees are still shaking until now,” Mallari said as he narrated the experience.
Social development worker Juana Paula Dumaging said officials began receiving reports of pleas for evacuation around 3 p.m. Friday from residents living beside Gibong River in Prosperidad town.
Dumaging said small tributaries have dumped huge volumes of water into the river, causing it to rise to dangerous levels.
In Butuan City, low-lying villages have also experienced flooding.
Vicky skirted its original path and barrelled through Agusan del Sur after making landfall in Baganga, Davao Oriental around 2 p.m. on Friday.
It was expected to make two more landfalls—-in Negros and Palawan—before exiting the Philippine area of responsibility on Monday (Dec. 20).