Floods displace hundreds in 3 Zamboanga villages

BROKEN HOUSE A portion of a house gives way after the soil is eroded by the rampaging water in Barangay Labuan, Zamboanga City, on Monday. —PHOTO COURTESY OF COUNCILOR MIKE ALAVAR

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Continuous rain since Sunday brought floods in at least three villages here, submerging houses and forcing hundreds of people to flee.At least six houses in Labuan were swept away by floods after water in a spillway in Purok 3 rose at least one meter, said Ronald Maravilla, the village chair.

Water also overflowed from a culvert in Purok 1, bringing knee-deep flood along the national highway.

“We are still assessing the situation to determine the actual number of families affected. So far, those who lost their homes are currently staying with their relatives,” Maravilla said.

Councilor Mike Alavar said even some houses that were partly made with concrete were washed away.

Alavar noted that flooding had become a perennial problem for Labuan, a coastal community 36 kilometers from the city center, because of “drainage issues, small single culvert and damaged spillway.”

In Talisayan, 13.5 km from Labuan, more than 200 families left their homes as water rose. They sought refuge at Talisayan Elementary School and Talisayan National High School, said Juanita Escobal, the village chair. “It is still raining [and] the number of [affected] families may still increase if this continues,” Escobal said on Monday.

Policemen help local officials in Talisayan in evacuating people around 5:30 a.m., said Police Capt. Yashier Sarikin, spokesperson of the city police.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Monday said the rain was spawned by a low pressure area (LPA) estimated at 90 km southeast of the city and embedded along the cloud band called the intertropical convergence zone. —JULIE ALIPALA INQ