Davao Oriental villagers evacuated

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Residents of the low-lying village of Saoquegue in Baganga, Davao Oriental, have been evacuated to safer ground after a river overflowed its banks following heavy rains since Monday night.

Fr. Darwey Clark, parish priest of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Baganga, said some of the evacuees were brought to the village center.

In some areas in Saoquegue, Clark said, the flood was neck-deep.

Clark said in a telephone interview that a river in the town of Caraga town also overflowed, rendering a bridge bridge impassable as of 10 a.m. Tuesday.