Newsmakers of 2011 (third part)

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

TOWARDs the end of 2011, residents in Cagayan de Oro certainly felt traumatized as almost 700 were killed while hundreds more are still missing when Tropical Storm Sendong ravaged around 24 barangays in the city on December 17.

The wrath wrought by “Sendong” left the residents grappled for water supply as some scoured through debris in search for their loved ones who are still missing as of press time.

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The damage that “Sendong” left would never be erased in the minds of those who were greatly affected by the natural calamity.

Before “Sendong” poured its fury this month, several incidents occurred in the city this year.

In March, two earthquakes at magnitude 4.5 and 3.3 hit Cagayan de Oro City which sent shivers among the residents especially since these occurred just a week after Japan was also hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said a fault line found along the Tagoloan River in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental could have triggered the tremors.

The Tagoloan River fault line is about 20 kilometers from Cagayan de Oro.

On Easter Sunday in April, a six-door commercial building in Cagayan de Oro was razed by fire, damaging at least P1.5 million worth of properties.

The establishments that were burned down included LBC, RD Pawnshop, Paper Station, Barkadahan Grill, Hanabel Bakeshoppe and Benjie Manuel Boutique.

Fire investigators said the fire started at the second floor of RD Pawnshop occupied and rented by a certain Geoffrey Tampos.

Fire also razed the north wing of Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS) that is connected to the left wing of the Pelaez Sports Center’s grandstand in April. The fire had eaten up at least 22 classrooms of MOGCHS, including an automotive shop. Fire investigators placed the damage at P1 million.

Also in April, the town of Balingoan in Misamis Oriental was hit by flash floods that displaced at least 100 residents and destroyed P1 million worth of properties. The flashfloods were reportedly due to heavy rains.

In July, at least four barangays in Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur were hit by flash floods due to heavy rains that affected a total of 2,156 families and damaged an estimated P10.6 million worth of agriculture crops and facilities.

In the same month, a landslide struck Sitio Maloos, Sinuda and Sitio Minalong, Kahusayan in Kitaotao town that injured at least four persons.

Reports revealed that the area hit by the landslide was nearly half-hectare and the volume of about 20 cubic meters of mud fell and covered the seven-meter length of Bukidnon-Davao national highway.

In August, a landslide also occurred in Purok 6, Sitio Bayabas in Barangay Margos, Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur due to continuous heavy rains.

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) said an estimated seven to eight truckloads of landslide debris with huge rocks and fallen trees have blocked the highway, causing the road impassable.

No casualties were reported in the incident.

In September, a tornado ripped through three villages in Valencia City that killed a one-year-old boy and injured four persons.

The Bukidnon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) said the boy died of drowning, based on the report of the medical examiner.

The boy’s mother said she saw him swept away by hard-blowing wind waves and slammed him upside-down to a nearby National Irrigation Administration main canal, separating him from her as the strong winds tore off their roof and pulled their frail house.

The tornado also affected 40 families in the villages of Batangan, Kahaponan and Tongantongan, all in Valencia City.

Also in September, two siblings died when their sari-sari store was razed by fire in Barangay Dansolihon, Cagayan de Oro. The victims died of severe burns.

Fire authorities said a lighted native lamp believed to have fallen from where it was placed has caused the fire.

In October, a man was found buried in mud at the Tagbalugo River in Barangay Canitoan, a few days after he was reported missing at the height of Tropical Storm Ramon that hit Misamis Oriental.

Guillermo Natindim, a resident of Opol in Misamis Oriental, reportedly tried to cross the river to go to work despite the strong current.

The storm has affected more than 400 families in different areas of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental who temporarily stayed in higher grounds after the local governments implemented a “forced evacuation.”

In late November, a 30-year-old man died while his sister was in serious condition after they were hit by a lightning while taking a rest inside a hut in Purok 8 Palalan, Tablon, Cagayan de Oro.

Boyet H. Binsig and his sister Virginita B. Monbisar were reportedly taking a nap after a hard day’s labor in the farm when a lightning hit them. Binsig was severely hit that caused his instantaneous death, while Monbisar was hospitalized for burns.

On November 7, Valencia City was hit by a 5.2-magnitude earthquake that damaged towering structures in the city and caused panic among the residents.

The earthquake has left 31 people injured, 61 houses destroyed and 21 families homeless.

And as the residents still grappled from the incident, the Phivolcs said a series of 56 quakes ranging from intensity 1 to 3 occurred in the city as part of the seismic swarms or aftershocks.

On December 7, about 26 families were displaced when a fire razed a highly populated residential area in Barangay Macabalan, damaging 22 houses worth P1.7 million.

No injury was reported in the incident except for some animals, particularly pigs and chicken, which were burned alive.

Every year, calamities strike but Filipinos as we are, we often manage to stand up and start our lives again.