WASHED AWAY | A portion of a farm-to-market road at Barangay Pinpin in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, is destroyed by heavy rains on Monday night, Jan. 2, 2023, cutting off the village from the town center. (Photo courtesy of 88.3 SPRING FM-TUBOD)
ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — Three residents in Lanao del Norte province died from flash floods that were spawned by the trough of a low pressure area, which hit eight towns on Monday night, reports from the disaster response officials said.
In a situation report prepared for the Office of Civil Defense and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) in Lanao del Norte said two fatalities were reported at Baris village in Tubod town while the third fatality was reported at Barangay Dalama in Baroy town. All of them drowned.
As many as 3,119 families, or some 12,264 people, were affected by the floods in the towns of Tubod, Baroy, Lala, Kapatagan, Salvador, Magsaysay, Munai, and Kolambugan.
Most of them came from Tubod (1,167 families) and Lala (1,161).Up to 886 families took temporary shelter in evacuation sites but as of Wednesday morning, many had returned home, except those in Tubod and Kolambugan towns.
A bridge in Salvador town was destroyed, isolating several villages from the town center.
Initial reports from the affected towns showed that 65 hectares of croplands were damaged and over P1 million worth of livestock, mainly carabao and cattle, and P3.4 million in fishpond production were wiped out by the floods.
Moderate to heavy rains triggered floods in several villages in Palawan province and forced authorities to close some roads in Kalinga province due to landslides on Wednesday.
Road, bridge closures
The rains, which had been pouring without letup since last week, also prompted classes and work suspensions in Albay and Camarines Sur provinces.
In Palawan, the floods caused road closures in Brooke’s Point and Sofronio Española, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded along the national highway.
Brooke’s Point Mayor Cesareo Benedito Jr. suspended classes at all levels and work in government and private offices.
Rescue personnel also had a hard time reaching remote areas in Brooke’s Point where communities were advised to transfer to elevated areas. Electricity and communication lines were already cut.
In Kalinga, village officials closed the San Julian bridge in Tabuk City on Wednesday after it was damaged by continuous rains. The Tabuk (Kalinga)-Bontoc (Mt. Province) road at Barangay Bugnay in Tinglayan, Kalinga, was blocked by landslides on Tuesday.
Rains caused rivers to swell in Isabela and Cagayan.
In Bicol, the provincial government of Albay and other local governments announced early dismissal and suspension of work and classes on Wednesday due to the threat of heavy rains.