Butuan mayor appeals for aid
AFP FILE PHOTO
BUTUAN CITY, Philippines — Butuan Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr. has appealed for more aid following widespread destruction left by nearly two weeks of rain caused by a lingering low pressure area.
Amante said two weeks of sustained rain triggered the overflowing of the Agusan River, “inflicting more damage and affecting more Butuan lives than ever before.”
The death toll in Butuan has reached four, with two others still missing.
Some 23,390 families or 101,985 Butuanons, mostly living in coastal and riverside villages were displaced and were housed in at least 75 evacuation centers.
Damage to agriculture, infrastructure and property could reach billions as assessment was still ongoing, he said.
Article continues after this advertisementButuan is no stranger to flooding as it sits at the mouth of the Agusan River that serves as a catchment basin of major river systems of Agusan del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao and Cotabato provinces.
Article continues after this advertisementIn 1981 and 1999, massive flooding inundated the entire city, displacing thousands and killing hundreds in what were considered the two worst environmental disasters to hit the regional capital.
The lack of flood control and water basin facilities and the heavy siltation on the river brought by massive deforestration and mining activities upstream were blamed for the flooding.
To address the problem, Amante said dredging of the Agusan River would be facilitated soon. About 35,000 hectares upriver are up for reforestration as additional mitigation measure, he said.
In Agusan del Sur, floods and landslides induced by the weather disturbance left 12 people dead, the biggest toll in the Caraga region.
A report by village chair Ruelito de la Pena of San Andres in Bunawan town said nine-year-old Dominick Hatico was buried alive by a landslide on Tuesday.
De la Pena said the family were having breakfast when a landslide swept their home.
Nida Manpatilan, municipal administrator of Esperanza town, said a still unknown resident in Sta. Fe village drowned on Monday when he tried to cross a flooded road.
She said floodwaters started to subside on Tuesday at the town center and neighboring areas while the isolated upstream villages were already reached by rescue teams for relief operations.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council was closely monitoring San Luis town where a runoff the Agusan Marsh was expected to submerge the town center any day soon.
A total of 37,751 families or 178,268 persons were affected by flooding in the province, with 12,467 families in 141 evacuation centers, the PDRRMC reported.
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