10 dead, 14,000 families displaced in new rounds of Davao floods

SUBMERGED An aerial shot taken from a Philippine Army helicopter by a Davao de Oro Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office personnel on Saturday shows the extent of the damage caused by floods in the town of Monkayo of the province. —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DAVAO DE ORO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

DAVAO CITY—At least 10 people have been reported killed in a new round of landslides and flooding that hit Davao de Oro province over the weekend following the continuous rains spawned by the trough of low pressure area (LPA) that has affecting the Davao region since last week, disaster response authorities said.

Even before the Davao region could recover from floods induced by torrential rains in the middle of January, some 400,000 individuals were once again affected by the new calamity that has once again submerged agricultural lands, private properties and roads and bridges, authorities said.

Provinces in the Davao region are still recovering from an earlier round of flooding and landslides brought about by the shear line last month.

Just before the recent round of landslides and floods brought about by the rains spawned by the trough of the LPA, the provinces of Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental had declared their respective areas under a state of calamity to bring relief to the people and address the trail of destruction left behind by the previous weather phenomenon.

Death toll

The Davao de Oro Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported that among the fatalities in the province was a 63-year-old woman who merely went out to feed her pigs but slipped in the river in Barangay Andap of New Bataan town and drowned. Two other individuals were killed in a landslide in another part of town.

The PDRRMO recorded two drowning victims in Pantukan town, a 76-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man; one killed in a landslide in Barangay Banlag, Monkayo town; while another person drowned in Maco town.

Last Jan. 31, the bodies of Ananias Andoy, 56, Virginia Buhian, 59, and Jerlyn Lada, 12, were recovered from among rocks and mud after a landslide hit Sitio Saranga of Barangay Poblacion, Maragusan town.

The PDRRMO also reported two persons still missing and 12 injured in Davao de Oro, which was still recovering from the state of calamity that hit the province in the middle of January.

READ: Davao floods, landslides displace 6,000 families

According to the report of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Davao region, a total of 38 barangays were hit by floods and landslides in Davao de Oro; and that at least 50 roads in the area have been destroyed.

Displaced families

Across the region, the OCD has monitored 98,984 families, or 413,663 people, affected by floods and landslides even as local government units implemented preemptive evacuations in identified flood and landslide-prone areas and moved families to safety.

Of those affected, the Davao del Norte province posted the highest number of 44,977 families, or 171,683 people affected; followed by Davao Oriental, with 37,557 families or 184,485 people; Davao de Oro, 13,790 families or 49,783 people; Davao City, 2,044 families or 5,246 people; and Davao Occidental, 616 families or 2,466 people.

Of the total number of affected families, however, only 14,959 families or 57,602 people have been staying in evacuation centers, according to OCD.

Davao de Oro posted the highest number of evacuees of 6,529 families (or 22,438 people); followed by Davao del Norte, 3,716 families (15,474 people); Davao Oriental, 2,508 families (11,600 people) and Davao City, 1996 families (P7,057 people). INQ