Thursday, January 11, 2007 Floods displace Davao Norte, Sur families By Rhodamae M. Hernandez
FLOODS brought by the continuous rain for the past week affected almost 400 families in Davao del Norte and Davao del Sur.
Antonio Cloma, chief of operations at the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Southern Mindanao, in an interview said even the other parts of the region were affected, good thing there were casualties.
Cloma said based on the latest report from the Provincial and City Disaster Coordinating Councils, portions of Davao del Norte that were affected were Kapalong, Asuncion, Tagum City, and Carmen. While in Davao del Sur, the affected areas were Malita and Sta. Maria.
Based on the reports received by the OCD, in Kapalong there were 186 families from Barangay Maniki who evacuated their homes and sought temporary shelter at the Kapalong Elementary School and in the municipal gym.
Also experiencing flood were Barangays Tibursiya, Florida, Simong and Mabantao in Kapalong.
Moderate flooding has been reported in Barangay Singayen in Asuncion, but this has not yet prompted residents to pack up and evacuate.
In Tagum City, affected barangays were Barangays Pagsabangan, Cuambogan, Mankilam, San Miguel, and Apokon.
There were 55 families from Mankilan, 40 families from San Miguel and 30 families from Cuambogan who sought shelter in schools, covered courts, and with relatives.
In Davao del Sur, 50 families at sitio Magsayong in Barangay Poblacion of Malita were affected. The Malita District Hospital was also flooded.
Cloma reiterated his warning to the residents of the barangays near the rivers and other low-lying areas to be vigilant.
"They should be vigilant. Kung sa tan-aw nila nga naga-increase na gyud ang tubig then moadto na sila sa mga lugar nga safe sila (If they believe that water level is rising, they should go to where they think they are safe)," Cloma said.
Cloma also advised the miners in Diwalwal to refrain from mining during these days of continuous raining.
"Kung magpadayon gyud ang pag-ulan, especially sa mga areas nga prone sa landslide, undang sa mo og mining until such time nga maayo na ang condition sa panahon (If the rains continue, especially in landslide-prone areas, you have to stop mining activities until when the weather becomes better)," Cloma advised.
Cloma said the local disaster coordinating councils have distributed relief goods to the evacuees.
Cloma added that they have joined with the Philippine Coast Guard to send rubber boats to the flooded areas especially in Tagum.
"As of now dili pa ta makahatag sa estimated damage sa mga properties kay padayon pa ang atong gihimo nga monitoring until mag-subside na ang tubig (We still cannot give an estimate on the worth of damage to properties since we are continuing with our monitoring until the water levels subside)," Cloma added.
