Davao floods send coffin, people to rooftops

DAVAO CITY –– The floods that affected close to 2,000 people in seven barangays here on Wednesday evening sent some residents, including those who had to drag a coffin, to the roofs of their houses.

But no one was hurt or missing, the Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) here reported.

Acting Mayor Sebastian Duterte signed a proclamation suspending classes in selected public and private schools in Davao City Thursday following the flash floods affecting 1,926 persons in some villages here on Wednesday night.

A localized thunderstorm that occurred around 4 p.m. on Wednesday brought heavy downpour in the villages of Los Amigos, Tugbok, Catalunan Pequeño, Talomo, Sto. Niño, Matina Crossing, and Mintal here.

The flood, which reached neck-deep or higher in some barangays, prompted residents to climb up to their rooftops for safety.

It also disrupted a wake in NHA-Bangkal, Talomo district, where family members had to climb the roof, carrying with them the coffin of a loved one, as floodwater encroached into their houses.

When the water subsided in the morning, the family moved the wake to the side of the street since their house still needed cleaning.

Responders and volunteers had a hard time accommodating requests for rescue due to the sheer number of requests.

Many roads were impassable during the flood, leaving several commuters and passengers stranded.

The City Transport and Traffic Management Office had to deploy four buses to ferry the passengers from the downtown area back to their flooded residences.

Some of the vehicles, including motorcycles, trucks, passenger cars and sedan parked in the affected villages were heavily damaged after the onslaught of the flash floods.

The mayor suspended classes at the Wangan Technical High School in Calinan district here, the Balengaeng Elementary School in Tugbok, the Leon Garcia Elementary School and the Central Elementary School in Talomo and all other public and private schools in the Calinan, Tugbok, and Talomo districts.

“The city government of Davao is duty-bound to safeguard the welfare of students and schoolchildren,” the acting mayor said in the proclamation.

Responders are calling for donations that may include canned goods, used clothes, sanitary and hygiene kits, bed sheets, pillows, and mats, which can be delivered to the Filipino-Chinese Firefighters Foundation in Bajada.

The City Social Services and Development Office also called for donations that may be dropped at the City Hall./lzb