Sunday, January 20, 2008 Over 100 houses swept by flood By Ryan D. Rosauro Ozamiz Correspondent
SINACABAN, Misamis Occidental - Amid a slight morning drizzle, several residents of coastal Kagay-anon village gathered in a makeshift tent where they kept vigil since Friday night for a dead fellow villager.
Danilo Pilar said other residents who are not in the wake are also in vigil of another flood that may hit in village anew. On Thursday some 119 houses were swept by flood after heavy rains.
Some three hours of sustained heavy rains was blamed for the subsequent heavy flooding with Kagay-anon village as the hardest hit.
Pilar related that the rush of flood waters started around 1 a.m., carrying along mud, fallen trees and some dead animals.
At the height of the flooding residents rushed to evacuate to a safer place towards the national highway while the casket of a dead resident was tied to a large tree so that it will only float amid the waters and not be swept towards the sea.
The level of floodwater into the village rose further as the Sinacaban River overflowed.
According to Mayor Dello Lood, the floodwaters damaged 84 houses in Kagay-anon village alone, quoting disaster census data.
Of these, 40 were totally damaged while 44 were assessed to be only partially damaged. Most of the destroyed houses were nipa huts.
Lood said based on initial assessment, which covers the havoc on dwelling units, the floods wrecked some P2 million worth of properties.
Assessment on damage to agricultural crops and livestock is still undertaken.
The displaced villagers are either staying with neighbors, relatives, or in the barangay halls.
On Thursday morning, Lood led local disaster management officials in distributing emergency food and clothing supplies to affected families.
Misamis Occidental governor Loreto Leo Ocampos had also instructed the Provincial Government's social welfare office to dispatch emergency assistance for the flood victims.
In Ozamiz City, heavy rains drowned at least a third of the urban area on Thursday, slowing down business throughout most of the morning until the flood subsided around noontime.
In some urban areas, floodwaters have subsided in the evening.
