No casualty but houses, jobs are lost

DIGOS CITY—While there is no casualty here when Tropical Depression “Zoraida” dumped rain and excess water into the Canos River, at least 80 families lost their homes and 400 others lost livelihood when flooding swept through at least six villages.

On Wednesday, the suffering families from the villages of Tres de Mayo, Zone 1, Aplaya, Sinawilan, Cogon and Dawis were greeted by good news as officials announced that more help was coming.

Fe Navidad, city social welfare officer, said initially only those who lost their homes or those whose houses were damaged would receive financial assistance.

Einstein Taghoy of the city disaster management office said 38 families, who lost houses in the flood, would receive P5,000 each while 43 others would  get P3,000 each to repair damaged homes.

Taghoy said the city government planned to relocate residents living in the banks of the Canos River that are now considered danger zones because it is prone to swell when it rains.

These residents would receive financial help during the relocation, said Taghoy. No relocation site has been identified, however, he said.

Taghoy said the city government, with the help of the Office of the Civil Defense  in southern Mindanao, conducted a three-day training workshop on disaster response that  ended on Wednesday. Reports from Eldie Aguirre and Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao