Floods hit Bukidnon, Surigao; families evacuated

DAVAO CITY, Philippines  — Flashfloods caused by incessant rains in the past days hit Bukidnon and other parts of Mindanao yesterday.

It had been raining in the region for three straight days because of the inter-tropical convergence zone prevailing in Mindanao.

Pulangi River overflowed and caused flashfloods in portions of Bukidnon, particularly in Valencia City. The river still had normal water levels as of 5 a.m. yesterday.

As the water level in the river rose, the diversion dam of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) located between Barangay Lumbayao in Valencia and San Fernando overflowed. 

Maj. Eugenio Osias IV, spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said the floods wiped out the entire Purok Dos in Barangay Poblacion in Valencia City.

Affected by the floods were nine barangays in the city: Maapag, Katumbalon, Pinatilan, Batangan, San Isidro, Lumbayao, Kahaponan, Poblacion and Sinabuagan.

The flashflood displaced 336 families or about 1,386 persons.

Air Force helicopters have been deployed for search and rescue operations.

No casualty was reported.

Heavy floods in Surigao, Agusan

About three feet of floods also occurred in Surigao and Agusan provinces yesterday, rendering several roads impassable.

The Daang Maharlika in Surigao del Sur was closed to traffic yesterday morning because of the floods, as well as the Davao-Butuan highway after floodwaters inundated Bayugan City in Agusan del Sur.

Some 280 families or 1,244 people from Surigao City, Claver, Sison, Tubod, and Placer in Surigao del Norte and Libjo in Dinagat were brought to various evacuation centers.

Pre-emptive evacuation was also ordered yesterday in Purok Uno in Poblacion Monkayo, Compostela Valley because of the continued rise in the water levels of the Agusan River.

One-year-old Roan was reported missing in Barangay San Roque, Surigao City.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 14 barangays with 447 families or 1,896 persons were evacuated when floods hit parts of the Caraga region that groups Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands.

The low-pressure area also affected 74 families or 275 persons in Leyte and 60 families or 300 persons in Cebu.

Heavy rainfall in Leyte, Cebu

Rains dumped by the tail end of a cold front in Cebu and Southern Leyte yesterday surpassed the monthly average rainfall of the two areas, according to the state weather bureau.

Fernando Cada, weather forecaster at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said 185.4 millimeters of rain was recorded in Mactan, Cebu from 8 a.m. of Dec. 26 to 8 a.m. of Dec. 27, exceeding its 133.2-mm average rainfall for the month of December.

In Southern Leyte, the recorded rainfall during the 24-hour monitoring was 209.6 mm, higher than its monthly average rainfall of 198.8 mm. With Roel Pareño, Alexis Romero, Helen Flores