7 dead, 5 missing in Davao de Oro landslide

OFF LIMITS Local government workers in New Bataan, Davao de Oro, close the Bangoy Bridge in Barangay San Roque after its approach is damaged by rampaging floodwaters on Thursday. —PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW BATAAN MDRRMO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Seven people died in Monkayo town, Davao de Oro province, after they were buried in a landslide triggered by heavy rains on Thursday spawned by a shear line.

The Monkayo local government, in a statement on Thursday night, said one was also in critical condition.

According to a report from a radio station in the Davao de Oro capital Nabunturan, the victims were inside one of two houses buried by mud at Sitio Pag-asa in Barangay Mt. Diwata, the once gold-rush community popularly known as Mt. Diwalwal.

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When the landslide struck around 12:30 p.m., the victims were among 13 people inside the house reportedly holding a prayer meeting.

The Bureau of Fire Protection and the Monkayo Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said their personnel, aided by local volunteers, police and soldiers, unearthed seven bodies from the site.

The search for five more people was stopped around 3:30 p.m. after threats of more landslides amid continuing downpour.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the state weather bureau had raised an orange rainfall warning (intense rains) over Davao de Oro, prompting Monkayo Mayor Manuel Zamora to order forced evacuation in all villages that are prone to landslide and flooding.

Displaced

Davao de Oro had been battered by heavy rains since Wednesday, spawning landslides and floods, mostly in Compostela, Monkayo and Montevista towns.

A disaster map prepared by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office showed that more than 70 villages in the province were hit by floods, landslides or both.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), some 187,110 people (44,888 families) from 109 villages were affected by the flooding and landslides in the Davao Region since Tuesday.

Of these, 6,709 people (1,190 families) have been staying in 36 evacuation centers in different towns in the region, the agency said.

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The NDRRMC reported that flooding and landslide hit some areas in the Davao Region on Jan. 16, affecting the villages of Mawab, Nabunturan and Maragusan in Davao de Oro, while flooding occurred in the municipalities of New Corella, Kapalong and Panabo City in Davao del Norte on the same day.

In Davao Oriental province, classes were suspended on Thursday by its 10 municipal governments and Mati City due to inclement weather. In six of the 11 localities, work was also suspended.

At least 13 families have been evacuated from Purok Katagman, Barangay Bobon in Mati City on Thursday noon as rivers began to swell because of the continuous rain. The families took refuge in a madrasa (Islamic school) in the area.

In Davao City, Mayor Sebastian Duterte suspended classes in public and private schools at all levels on Thursday afternoon as the city experienced steady and continuous rains. As of 4 p.m., the Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office raised the warning level of the Bunawan and Licanan river here to “Code Orange,” as floods threatened and water in these rivers gradually rose, triggering barangay sirens to issue the first alarm for preemptive evacuation of riverbank communities.

Also on Thursday, the local governments of Tagum City and Island Garden City of Samal, and Carmen, Braulio E. Dujali, New Corella, Santo Tomas, Kapalong towns in Davao del Norte also suspended classes in all public and private schools because of the bad weather. —WITH REPORTS FROM NESTOR CORRALES AND GERMELINA LACORTE