IMPASSABLE | There used to be a road here. But this portion of Tagbaros-Mainit road in Maco, Davao de Oro, is now closed to traffic, in this photo taken Tuesday, after a landslide triggered by heavy rains since Monday night struck the area. (Photo by JONAVIE SALISE / Contributor
TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, Philippines — It’s a week of misfortune for Davao de Oro as rain-induced landslides and flooding hit several villages there on Tuesday, even as the province is still reeling from the devastation brought by a series of strong earthquakes last week.
At least 526 families or 1,379 persons have been affected by the latest disaster, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said on Wednesday, with the figure expected to rise as an assessment continues.
New Bataan and Nabunturan towns were the hardest hit in landslides triggered by an overnight downpour on Monday as a low pressure area moved southeast off Davao City.
Lynne Dollolasa, municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer of New Bataan, said an assessment of damage and the number of families affected by flooding and landslides in several villages was still ongoing.
Landslides were reported in the villages of Camanlangan, Andap, and Magangit, Dollolasa said.
In Barangay Fatima, flooding scoured a portion of a road near a bridge, rendering it impassable to traffic.
Rock, soil slides
The portion of the provincial road in Magangit, New Bataan, was also closed to traffic as boulders blocked it following a rock slide.
In Nabunturan town, landslides also struck the upland portions of barangays Bukal, Mainit, Tagnocon, and Katipunan. Several families were preemptively evacuated as flooding occurred in the villages of Magading and Magsaysay.
Nabunturan Mayor Myrocel Balili has ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in the town.
Classes were also suspended in Maragusan town.
In Maco town, landslide and flooding severed a portion of Tagbaros-Mainit road, prompting the evacuation of several families near the area on Wednesday morning.
In Compostela town, several families also fled due to flooding, local officials said.
The province is currently under a state of calamity as a result of the March 7 quakes.
That series of tremors — with magnitude 5.9 and 5.6 just over two hours apart — damaged over 3,000 homes and 160 schools, and has affected over 229,000 families, the PDRRMO has earlier reported.