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Cagayan de Oro City under state of calamity


The city of Cagayan de Oro has been placed under a state of calamity early Tuesday after heavy rains caused massive flooding.

Major streets were submerged in floods on Monday due to heavy rains brought about by a low pressure area in the vicinity of Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay and the tail-end of a cold front.

Floods reached the chest-deep level in some areas, News To Go reported on Tuesday.

Even malls and hospitals were flooded. Vehicles were submerged in floodwaters. Some areas lost electricity, and there were houses made of light materials that were swept away by the flood.

Code Red was raised by the Cagayan de Oro city government after the water level in Iponan River reached a critical level.

The government has imposed forced evacuation in Barangays Tumpagon, Pigsag-an, Lumbia, Tuburan, Pagalungan, Sansimon, Iponan, Bulua, Pagatpat, and Canitoan.

The members of the 18th Council of Cagayan de Oro pronounced the city as under a state of calamity early Tuesday morning after an emergency session at 1 a.m., City Information head Marites Casino-Rivera posted.

Classes have been suspended for preschool, elementary, and high school levels. For colleges and universities, the decision to suspend classes would depend on the discretion of school heads or administrators.

Some stranded college students were left with no choice but to spend the night at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, a News To Go report on Tuesday said.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno ordered the work suspension in all courts in Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday.

Weather began to improve by Tuesday morning, and residents who were either stranded or evacuated from their homes are being returned to safer grounds, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) said.

In an Unang Balita interview on Tuesday, Allan Porcadilla of Cagayan De Oro City CDRRMO said floods have begun to subside in the city.

“Humupa na po 'yung baha dito at wala na pong ulan sa ngayon," Porcadilla said.

Some malls will still open on Tuesday, albeit late, so residents can buy food.

More than 1,000 families, equivalent to more than 3,000 individuals, were affected by the massive flooding, initial report from the Misamis Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

Citing a report from their Region 10 director, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo in a News To Go interview said 133 families were evacuated in Cagayan de Oro City, 112 families from Iligan City, 540 families from Gingoog town in Misamis Oriental, and five families from Calamba town in Misamis Occidental.

She also said flooding incidents were reported in Negros Oriental and Occidental and in some areas in Leyte.

No major cell site was damaged by the flood, Taguiwalo said, so cellphone signals remain stable.

Food donations, evacuation centers

The city government also announced that food donations are accepted at the City Disaster Risk and Management Council Command Center at the City Hall.

The evacuation centers are: Macasandig Covered Court, Aluba Catholic Church, Xavier University Gym, Patag 4th ID gym, Nazareth covered court, Canitoan covered court, Bulua covered court, Bonbon covered court, Bugo gym, Agusan gym, Corrales Elementary School, and Barangay 7 Barangay Hall. —with Erwin Colcol/BAP/KG, GMA News

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