Kabayan displaces over 86,000 in Mindanao

MURKY CROSSING | A girl wades through waist-deep floodwater in her village in Prosperidad town, Agusan del Sur, on Monday, Dec. 18., 2023, after heavy rains dumped by Tropical Storm “Kabayan” submerged roads and houses in the community, displacing hundreds of residents. (Photo by ERWIN MASCARIÑAS / Inquirer Mindanao)

DAVAO CITY, Davao del Sur, Philippines — The number of people affected by floods triggered by heavy rains accompanying the low-pressure area formerly known as Tropical Storm Kabayan has increased from the initial 7,000 to more than 86,000, mostly in Mindanao, data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Tuesday showed.

While Kabayan, the 11th tropical cyclone to hit the country this year, was downgraded to a low-pressure area on Monday afternoon after making landfall in the town of Manay in Davao Oriental province, it brought heavy rains across Mindanao, affecting 86,321 people in 12 provinces as of Tuesday, including the 22,695 people were pre-emptively evacuated ahead of the weather disturbance’s landfall.

One was reported injured and one went missing, the NDRRMC said.

One person remained missing, a 35-year-old man who was swept by rampaging floodwaters in Manay town on Tuesday, a day after the onslaught of rains brought by Kabayan, local disaster response officials said.

In the Davao Region alone, 925 families or 4,145 people fled their villages on Monday and took refuge in evacuation sites at the height of flooding and landslides in the provinces of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental, the regional Office of Civil Defense said.

Of the total number, 314 families (1,396 people) remained at evacuation sites on Tuesday, while others stayed with relatives, it said.

As of Tuesday, a bridge connecting Davao de Oro’s Maragusan town to the capital town of Nabunturan remained impassable. Landslides were also reported along the roadside of Barangay Tandawan in New Bataan; Sitio Depo of Barangay Ulip in Monkayo town; while a road slip was noted in Capasnan village of Manay town in Davao Oriental.

IN FATHER’S ARMS | A father holds his child tight as they cross the rising floodwater in Barangay Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, at the height of Tropical Storm Kabayan on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by ERWIN MASCARIÑAS / Inquirer Mindanao)

In Caraga town of Davao Oriental, two footbridges — one connecting Sitio Bonbon and Poblacion Lamiawan, and another to Pichon village — were wrecked by the strong flood current.

Stranded passengers

In Surigao City, the dissipation of Kabayan into a low-pressure area has brought relief to dozens of stranded passengers after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) lifted the suspension of voyages across the Surigao Strait on Tuesday.

However, voyages remained suspended for vessels with 35 gross tonnage (GT) in Surigao del Norte, 150 GT in Dinagat Islands and 250 GT in Surigao del Sur due to a gale warning by the state weather bureau.

The Surigao City social welfare office gave food packs to 266 stranded passengers at the Eva Macapagal Passenger Terminal and the City Integrated Land Transport Terminal.

The PCG also reported that as of Tuesday, the number of stranded passengers and other port terminal workers was down to 242 in Eastern Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao. Due to sailing restrictions, as many as 5,400 people were stuck at different ports in the country during the peak of Kabayan between Sunday and Monday.

In Surigao del Sur, power was restored in 72 of the province’s 113 villages as of noon on Tuesday, the Surigao del Sur Electric Cooperative reported.

Power was cut off throughout the province at the height of Kabayan’s onslaught.

In Agusan del Sur, the storm brought to mind the worsening floods in many of its towns, particularly San Francisco, Rosario, Talacogon and the capital, Prosperidad.

Flooding has become a regular experience in many villages of these towns in the last three years, with residents observing that the waters have become higher each time.

—WITH REPORTS FROM GERMELINA LACORTE, CHRIS PANGANIBAN, RYAN ROSAURO AND DEMPSEY REYES