A TOTAL of 114 houses were damaged by huge waves that struck the coastlines of six affected villages in Davao City, dawn of August 3, based on the data provided by Davao City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) as of 2 p.m. Saturday.
Among the villages that were affected are barangays 21-C, 22-C, 23-C, Bago Aplaya, Matina Aplaya, and Brgy. Duterte.
CDDRMO chief Alfredo Baloran told SunStar Davao that residents living in the affected areas have long been warned on the possible rising of waves.
“Last month, nag-conduct nami og pulong-pulong sa mga barangays because expected na aning bulana and the coming months, up to October gani ni nga muhapak ang Southwest Monsoon (Hanging Habagat) nga mag-cause og dakong balod. Wala mi nagkulang pahibalo sa ila (We conduct series of gatherings of all barangay heads last month due to the expected crashing of waves this month until October due to the Southwest Monsoon. We never lacked in terms of information dissemination),” Baloran said during a phone interview.
He said the City Social Services and Development Office already extended necessary assistance to the victims.
Meanwhile, he said the city is not anticipating any presence of typhoons or low pressure areas.
He also said the large waves experienced in coastal areas happen annually due to the Southwest Monsoon.
Although he said the damages were minimal and no life casualties were recorded, he urged the village officials to disallow residents from building their residential houses along the coastlines.
Call for relocation
Eduardo, 32, along with his wife and 10 children, was one of those who were affected by the large waves that destroyed their houses in Barangay 22-C.
He said the size of the wave reached as high as three meters.
Eduardo said his family is willing to leave their current residence as soon as the local government will provide them a relocation site.
“Sa pagkakaron, hangyo lang namo sa gobyerno na patas-an ning seawall aron di na maigo sunod (As of now, we are asking the government to extend the height of the seawall so that we will no longer be hit with it),” he said.
Jason, meanwhile, one of the residents living near the area, was not able to anticipate nor prepare for the sudden rise of the wave.
“Nangambak na lang ang uban sa dagat. Gipasagdan na lang namo ang among gamit, kay pwede pa man na makit-an. Importante kay luwas ming tanan. Human ato kay iya-iya na mi’g panghipos sa among panimalay (Some jumped off the shore. We abandoned all our belongings, because we could still purchase them. What matters most is everyone’s safety. We gathered some stuff which we could still find useful after),” Jason said.
No build zone
CDRRMO training officer Lyndon Ancajas said the office will continuously monitor the coastal areas of the city.
Ancajas, meanwhile, encouraged the barangays to implement the “No Build Zones” on areas identified as disaster prone.
“Naa sa barangay level na mubadlong ani sa mga residents nga magtukod sa mga ‘No Build Zones’. Usahay mahadlok man gud sila magpatuman siguro tungod sa political na side (The barangays have the rightful authority to bar residents from building in areas classified as ‘No Build Zones’. Some are hesitant to implement it due to political threats),” he said during the Davao Media Forum on Saturday.