Floods hit Zamboanga City anew

Rescuers brave chest-deep waters in Barangay Cabatangan to evacuate residents at the height of the heavy rains on Tuesday. Photo by Zamboanga CDRRMO

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — Just two weeks after being displaced from their homes due to massive flooding, hundreds of families in several villages here experience floods again due to continuous heavy rains.

Due to the persistent inclement weather, Mayor John Dalipe ordered the suspension of classes in all levels in public and private schools of the city. He also cut short to 3 p.m. the work in local government offices.

However, offices doing essential work were directed to maintain skeleton workforce, while frontline offices were told to maintain ample workforce for possible augmentation during emergency response.

Some parts of the national highway and city streets turned into virtual rivers. Hundreds of families living along riverbanks have been advised by local rescuers to seek safer grounds.

The city has been experiencing rains since Monday night and a heavy downpour on Tuesday morning.

As of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office counted eight villages hit by floods. These were Tumaga, Guiwan, Putik, Pasonanca, San Jose Gusu, San Roque, Cabatangan, and Baliwasan.

Raul Rivera, spokesperson of the Zamboanga City Water District, said water level at their intake dam rose to 75.70 meters “which is critical above normal.” The normal level is 74 meters.

Jimmy Santos, manager of the Civil Aviation Authority at the Zamboanga International Airport, confirmed that one of the regular flights, Cebu Pacific’s 5J853, was diverted to Cagayan de Oro City due to poor visibility and a flooded runway.

The entire city is experiencing a power outage and some areas have no water.

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JPV