1 killed in Butuan mine collapse; 33 Dinagat families displaced by floods

BUTUAN City, Philippines—A person was killed in a mine tunnel cave-in while some 33 families, or 164 persons, have been displaced by floods caused by incessant rain spawned by  Tropical Depression Ramon, the Office of Civil Defense here said Wednesday.

Blance Gobenciong, chief of the Office of Civil Defense in the Caraga Region, said a mine tunnel collapsed in Barangay (village) Maibu in Butuan on Tuesday, killing Daryl Gales, 20. Gales was recovered at around 8 a.m. Tuesday from a landslide in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte after he was buried alive inside the hole he was digging when the pile of mud came in his direction, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Gobenciong said the 33 families from two towns in Dinagat province who were displaced and temporarily housed in evacuation centers have returned to their homes as weather started to normalize.

She said the agency has lowered the alert mode for possible flooding and landslides in high-risk areas after the weather showed signs of normalcy.

Dave Martinez, a resident of Hinatuan town in Surigao del Sur, said unlike Tuesday’s heavy rains, it was only drizzling on Wednesday.

“Parang walang bagyo (It’s as if there’s no storm),” Martinez said.

Classes in most public elementary and secondary levels in some towns and cities in the Caraga Region have also resumed.

In Butuan City, commercial flights in and out of the regional capital have resumed.

Power was also restored on Siargao Island, a day after the electric utility there shut off its supply due to strong winds.

Key road networks in the region, like the Surigao-Davao Coastal Road and the Butuan-Cagayan Road, remained open to traffic.— With a report from Jamie Marie Elona,

INQUIRER.net