Davao floods, landslides displace 6,000 families

IMPASSABLE Rampaging waters gobble up a road in Monkayo town, Davao de Oro, in this photo taken on Friday, after days of intense rain caused by the trough of a low pressure area. —MONKAYO
MUNICIPAL DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMENT OFFICE PHOTO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY— Heavy rains brought about by the trough of a low pressure area continued to batter the Davao region as of Friday, displacing at least 6,000 families and damaging farms and roads.

The downpour has caused landslides and flooding in various parts of the cities of Davao and Tagum and the provinces of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental.

As of Friday, authorities have yet to find three persons who were reported to have been missing after landslides—one in Maragusan town, Davao de Oro; and two in Caraga town, Davao Oriental.

The most affected by the onslaught of rains was Monkayo town in Davao de Oro province. As of Friday afternoon, floodwaters were still rising in its village of Rizal, submerging numerous houses.

Monkayo’s 21 villages have been hit by floods and landslides, sending 4,464 families or some 10,129 individuals away from their homes in search of safer places, according to a report from its Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO).

The evacuees were either staying with relatives or in designated evacuation centers, the MDRRMO said.

Due to damage in roads and bridges, Monkayo has been cut off from neighboring Montevista and Compostela towns.

Power outage

In Davao de Oro’s Maragusan town, a major tourist destination, power has been cut off since Thursday as 11 electric posts of the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) were downed by the rains, prompting the local government to set up battery charging stations at the municipal government center.

Nordeco said the brownout was also experienced in some parts of New Bataan, Maco and Pantukan towns.

Many resorts in Maragusan had to temporarily close down due to the effects of the inclement weather, including the highly popular Tagbibinta Falls mountain resort, after a portion of its facilities was covered by mud from a landslide.

As of Friday afternoon, 12 of Maragusan’s 24 villages were affected by either flooding or landslide, sending 361 families or 1,452 individuals fleeing to evacuation centers.

The road linking the town to Mati City, the capital of Davao Oriental province, was also blocked by debris from a landslide, as well as another road that connects Maragusan to Davao de Oro’s capital, Nabunturan town.

Maragusan Mayor Lito Cabalquinto said that as of Friday afternoon, the road to Nabunturan was partially passable, but only to motorbikes and for those who can bear a long walk.

Scarce supplies

In New Bataan town, nine of its 16 villages were cut off from the town center as roads leading there were either damaged by flood or blocked by debris from landslides, according to the town’s MDRRMO. Classes had been suspended there on Friday, as well as in nearby Mabini town.

Because of the difficulty of bringing aid in remote villages, Gov. Dorothy Gonzaga on Friday called on villagers to organize community kitchens using livestock and grains available in their respective areas, promising to pay them for the expenses as soon as provincial government personnel are able to get through the blocked roads.

In Davao Oriental province, the Office of Civil Defense counted 1,368 families who were displaced by the floods and landslides in various towns. At least 500 of them were staying in an evacuation center inside the provincial capitol in Mati City, said Gov. Niño Sotero Uy.

Uy said he had asked for the assistance of the Department of Public Works and Highways to clear roads of debris so that aid can be delivered quickly for affected communities.

On Friday, Uy said they were able to airlift emergency food supplies to several remote communities of Caraga town.

Uy added that amid continuing rains, they have readied heavy equipment that could be deployed in areas needing immediate debris clearing. Access to towns such as Boston, Tarragona and San Isidro was hampered by debris blocking the roads.

Uy noted the rains would stop during daytime but return in the afternoon until evening, forcing residents to spend the night in evacuation centers.

“Almost every barangay hall throughout the province had evacuees,” Uy told government-run PTV on Friday.

In Tagum City, Davao del Norte, several families were rescued in Barangay Busaon on Friday as floodwaters rose. Many villages of the city and in nearby towns were still flooded as of Friday.

On Friday morning, travelers were stranded as a road in Carmen town was engulfed by flood. The roads leading to Sto. Tomas, Carmen and B.E. Dujali towns from Tagum City remained closed to traffic due to floods.