Davao City hit by floods, power outage due to heavy rains

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Heavy rains triggered flooding that left many commuters stranded and caused power outages here on Wednesday evening.

The city’s Central 911 said the flooded areas were the Quezon Boulevard, Ramon Magsaysay Avenue, Bangoy Street, Suazo Street, JP Laurel Avenue particularly the intersection near the Southern Philippines Medical Center; and Toril District and the roads around the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal.

The rain started at around 6:20 p.m. and flood waters started to rise within 15 minutes.

A PORTION of the Cotabato-Davao highway submerged in flood. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Strong winds uprooted trees in Toril causing power outages in the area. Fallen trees blocked many streets hampering the services provided by the satellite station of Central 911 in the area.

Additional search and rescue teams were immediately deployed to conduct street clearing operations, Central 911 said in an advisory Thursday.

As of Thursday morning, power has not yet been restored in several areas of Toril. Teams from the Davao Light and Power Corporation have been trying to fix the damaged power lines.

No casualties or damage to property have been reported from the flooding, the local government said.

Davao has been hit by severe floods in recent years.

The worst flood to hit the city was in June 2011, during which, more than 30 persons died.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte subsequently ordered the massive cleanup of the drainage systems, while the Department of Public Works and Highways in Southern Mindanao allocated P50 million to construct new and better drainage systems and to rehabilitate existing structures.

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