Over 350,000 people affected by Visayas, Mindanao floods

UPDATED 3:00 p.m. - The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Tuesday over 350,000 people in 12 provinces have been affected by continuous rains due to the tail-end of a cold front. According to the January 4 (noon) report of the NDRRMC, moderate to heavy rains that prevailed since December last year have triggered floods and landslides in Regions IV-B, V, VII, VIII, X, XI, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and CARAGA. The NDRRMC said 68,498 families (or 356,528 persons) were affected in 394 barangays in 12 provinces in Regions IV-B, V, VII, VIII, X, XI, ARMM and CARAGA. In the CARAGA region in Mindanao, a state of calamity was declared on Tuesday in the following areas:

Surigao del Sur

Surigao del Norte, and

Butuan City. In the Eastern Visayas region, a state of calamity was also declared on Tuesday in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte due to flooding and landslides. In the Bicol region in Luzon, a state of calamity was declared on December 30 last year, also due to floods and landslides caused by continuous rains. According to the NDRRMC, 12 are dead due to massive flooding and landslides in the affected areas:

Three dead in Barangay Bolodbolod, Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte: Fatima Discaryal, Rodel Discaryal and Jordan Laquipon;

1 dead in Barangay Pancho Villa, Sogod, Southern Leyte: Patrick Pelaez;

1 dead in Barangay Maanyag, Tomas Oppus, Southern Leyte: Recabel Montederamos;

1 dead in in Barangay Lower Sagadan, Baroy, Lanao del Norte: Cristy Jane Celocia;

1 dead in Mt. Diwata, Compostela Valley: Apolinaria Porras; and

2 dead in Manito, Albay: Dadap Antonio and Dadap Lolita;

1 dead in Legaspi City: Maricris Abrigo; and

2 dead in Maibu Village in Butuan City: Diosporo Alviro and Cielo Carrido. The NDRRMC said one was reported missing, an unidentified person from Barangay Guinsaangan, Bontoc, Southern Leyte. Damage to property The NDRRMC said 49 houses have been damaged by floods and landslides — 32 totally damaged and 17 partially-damaged. 2 Agriculture In Region V, the NDRRMC said 199 hectares of seedlings and newly transplanted stage of rice and vegetables were submerged in the province of Albay: Camalig (174 hectares affected), Malilipot (15 hectares) and Manito (10 hectares). In CARAGA, the NDRRMC said four hectares of corn fields in Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte were flooded. Flooded areas The January 4 (noon) report of the NDRRMC said the following areas were reported to be submerged in floods:

Region IV-A: Barangays El Vita and Paraca, Narra, Palawan;

Region V: Various barangays in Jovellar, Daraga, Camalig, Malinao, Polangui, Libon and Tiwi in Albay and Castilla, Sorsogon;

Region VIII: Barangay 92 in Tacloban City, Leyte; majority of the barangays in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte; upstream barangays in Oras, Maslog, Canavid, Dolores, Jipapad and Taft, Eastern Samar; Barangay Fatima, Hinabangan, Western Samar; and Northern Samar;

Region X: Flooding incidents occurred in Tubod, Baroy and Lala, Lanao del Norte due to the overflowing of Bulod River due to continuous rains;

Region XI: Monkayo, Compostela, New Bataan, Montevista and Nabunturan in Compostela Valley due to the overflowing of the Agusan River and its tributaries; Boston and Manay Davao Oriental flooded due to the overflowing of Dakong Banwa and Casauoman Rivers;

CARAGA: Surigao City, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur;

ARMM: 13 barangays in Maguindanao province: 11 in Talayan and 2 in Datu Anggal Midtimbang. Landslides Meanwhile, the NDRRMC reported landslides in the following areas:

Region V: Manito, Sto. Domingo, Malilipot and Bacacay, all of Albay with 18 barangays affected;

Region VIII: Artemio Mate Avenue, Tacloban City, Leyte and Barangay San Rafael, Hinabangan, Western Samar;

Region XI: Barangays Mt. Diwata and San Jose, Monkayo and Brgys Cambagang and Poblacion Maragusan;

CARAGA: Minor landslides occurred in Surigao City and Dinagat Islands, Barangay Salvacion, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. Impassable roads The NDRRMC said the following roads were reported to be still impassable:

CARAGA: Three road sections in Agusan del Sur are still impassable to all types of vehicles due to flooding and landslide: Bah-Bah-Talacogon Road, Awa-Aspetia and Butuan Lapaz Road. Butuan-Talcogon-La Paz Road is impassable due to landslide. Agusan–Davao Road in Agusan del Sur; Agusan-Surigao Road in Agusan del Norte and San Francisco-Bahi Road in Agusan del Sur are passable to all types of vehicles; In Surigao del Sur: Payasa-Los Arcos Road, GamutSan Miguel Road and Surigao-Davao Coastal Road-Lingig-Davao Oriental Boundary are not passable due to landslide and flooding; in Surigao del Norte, Del Carmen-San Benito Road is not passable to all types of vehicle due to flooding.

Region XI: Two footbridges in Barangay Andap, New Bataan, Compostela Valley were washed out; the National Highway along Barangays Cabinuangan and San Roque, New Bataan, Compostela Valley is scoured. Early declaration of state of calamity Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo has praised Albay Gov. Joey Salceda and local provincial officials for placing the province under a state of calamity early, December 30, just as the continuous rains were beginning to be felt in several parts of the country. Robredo said Albay local officials' prompt and preemptive response to the heavy flooding in the province had saved lives and properties. “Gov. Salceda promptly assessed and addressed the situation, thereby preventing substantial losses in lives and properties. His efficient implementation of proactive measures especially preemptive evacuation is worth emulating," Robredo said. A state of calamity is collectively decided upon by the local council. The declaration allows the local government to use its calamity fund, which makes up five percent of the province's Internal Revenue Allotment. In an earlier interview, Salceda appealed to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA) to declare warning signals not only when there are typhoons but for any weather disturbance that may gravely affect lives and property. Salceda said that the tail-end of the cold front, though not categorized as a typhoon, is like a "traitor" and a "silent killer," as it could trigger floods and landslides. Last week, the governor ordered a mass preemptive evacuation of over 4,000 individuals living in low-lying areas of Albay. The evacuees had to reside temporarily in about 12 evacuation centers. Relief assistance The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local government units (LGUs) provided P1,080,699.65 worth of relief assistance to the affected areas:

Region V: P503,270;

Region VIII: P217,600, and

CARAGA PhP359,829. The DSWD also has P22.2 million worth of standby funds, aside from family packs and other food, and non-food items. The DSWD also allocated P1 million for Region VIII for the purchase of emergency relief supplies in addition to its prepositioned relief resources to augment the needs of the affected families. Meanwhile, a nongovernment organization, Gawad Kalinga (GK), headed by Mari Oquinena, will be sending a team to St. Bernard on Tuesday to start relief operations. A GK team in Orios University in Butuan is also ready to receive evacuees. – with Mark Merueñas, VVP, GMANews.TV