Evacuation continues as rain, floods hound Davao region

Residents of flood-hit Lydia village in La Paz town, Agusan del Sur, walk home carrying relief goods from the provincial government. —PHOTO COURTESY OF AGUSAN DEL SUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE

TAGUM CITY—Heavy rain continued to pound sections of southern Mindanao this week, swelling rivers and submerging low-lying communities.

In Compostela Valley province, a 16-year-old boy drowned after he was swept away by a strong current as he tried to cross a swollen river in New Bataan town, said Raul Villocino, provincial disaster action officer.

Classes in the province were suspended on Monday and Tuesday as moderate to heavy rain hit the province, causing rivers to nearly burst their banks.

At least 158 families stayed in evacuation centers as floods hit several villages in the capital Nabunturan, said provincial spokesperson Fe Maestre.

Villocino said provincial officials were assessing the situation in seven towns before they declare the province under a state of calamity.

The regional Office of Civil Defense said at least six people died due to floods and landslides in the Davao region.

Three fatalities came from the towns of Caraga and Cateel in Davao Oriental province, said Karen Deloso, provincial information officer.

Officials of Davao Oriental earlier placed the province under a state of calamity.

Police and soldiers helped local officials evacuate residents of eight villages in Cateel town as water level in Aragon Dam, one of Mindanao’s biggest, was nearing its spilling point, said Senior Supt. Harry Espela, Davao Oriental police chief.

In Davao del Norte, close to 900 people fled to evacuation centers as flooding submerged most of Kapalong town, rendering several roads leading to interior villages and to the neighboring town of Asuncion impassable, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) said.

Last week’s flooding displaced more than 20,000 people in Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte, officials said.

In Agusan del Sur, the PDRRMC on Monday recommended that the province be placed under state of calamity as 30,000 people had been displaced by floods in 12 towns.

The PDRRMC, chaired by acting Gov. Samuel Tortor, said the problem was so serious that seven towns had been declared under a state of calamity by their respective town councils.

Among the towns, La Paz was the hardest hit with 13 of its 15 villages flooded.  —FRINSTON LIM AND CHRIS PANGANIBAN