DAVAO CITY -- A total of 167 families were displaced after a flood hit Barangay Tanglaw in Braulio Dujali, Davao del Norte, Sunday afternoon.
Davao del Norte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) action officer Sonio Sanchez said heavy downpour caused the flooding.
"Sa kusog nga ulan, napundo ang tubig, then miagi kini sa Tuganay River. Mao tong nakapabaha sa Barangay Tanglaw (Because of a heavy rainfall, there was a big buildup of water that passed through Tuganay River. That was the cause of the flood in Barangay Tanglaw)," Sanchez told Sun.Star SuperBalita.
"We then conducted pre-emptive evacuation. We deployed all our rescue boats to hasten the evacuation and we temporarily sheltered the evacuees in the gymnasiums f the different schools in the municipality," Sanchez added.
The floodwaters subsided Monday morning and the evacuees returned to their homes around 3 p.m. Sanchez said barangay officials offered relief goods and clothes to the affected individuals.
No casualty was recorded in the flooding incident.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Davao Director retired Brigadier General Loreto Rirao conducted Monday an assessment on the incident along with representatives from the United Nations (UN).
"I am now with the representatives of UN and we are identifying how much is the estimated cost of damage and how we could assist in the relief operations," he said in a phone interview Monday.
"It is already in the advisory of NDRRMC that areas in Davao del Norte, particularly those near Tuganay River are flood-prone areas. So I would suggest that if they would sense that the river would overflow due to, they could make preemptive evacuations to prevent casualties," Rirao added.
He said the Davao Region may continue to experience heavy rainfall during night time due to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) spotted by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) within the Philippine area of responsibility.
Aside from Davao Region, Pagasa also warned against possible flooding and landslides in several other areas in the country, including Metro Manila, due to Tropical Depression “Emong,” the fifth tropical cyclone to enter the Philippines this year.
As of 10 p.m. Monday, Pagasa estimated Emong at 340 kilometers east of Daet, Camarines Norte, with maximum winds of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center.
It has maintained its strength, but is still far to directly affect any part of the country, said the weather bureau. Emong is moving north northwest at 9 kph and is expected to intensify within the next 24 hours.
Pagasa has not raised storm warning signals as Emong is not expected to make landfall in any part of the country due to its slow movement. But it warned residents particularly in Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao against heavy rains and thunderstorms, as the tropical depression will enhance the southwest monsoon.
Pagasa estimated the rainfall amount within Emong's 300-kilometer diameter from five to 15 millimeters per hour. This amount is considered “moderate to heavy.”
Around 8:30 p.m. Monday, Pagasa raised “yellow rainfall alert” over areas in Metro Manila due to heavy rains.
The areas covered by the warning were: Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Manila, Pasig, Pasay, Taguig, Makati, Paranaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Quezon City (Fairview, Novaliches and Commonwealth), Mandaluyong, and Pateros.
Pagasa terminated the rainfall advisory around 11:25 p.m. Monday as light to moderate rainfall was observed over Metro Manila for the past hour. It still advised residents to continue monitoring weather updates. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)