Landslides, river swelling displace residents as rains drench Mindanao

Consolador Baldoz can only look at his wooden house now floating in floodwater as rescuers took him to a safer place after Ibong River in Agusan del Sur overflowed due to incessant rains.

 

“Wala na akong kasama sa bahay. 'Yung mga alaga ko naanod na,” said 92-year-old Baldoz of Brgy. Tagabua, San Francisco.

 

He is among 203,022 people or 43,417 families displaced and are staying in 565 evacuation centers due to the low-pressure area (LPA).

 

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Tropical Depression Agaton, which now weakened to a low pressure area, destroyed 739 houses and damaged 1,278.

 

Baldoz's neighbors heaved a sigh of relief as rescuers finally came to bring them to higher grounds. Rescuers took the children and senior citizens first. They were brought to a chapel which was used as an evacuation center.

 

As of 6 a.m., January 21, a total of 168,492 families or 809,686 people were affected in 804 barangays in 103 municipalities in Mindanao. Fifteen provinces in Mindanao were affected.

 

A total of 27 cities and municipalities have been placed under state of calamity. These were:

 

The NDRRMC said the death toll remained at 42, with 65 injured and eight missing.

 

Iligan, Lanao del Norte

 

In Sitio Kabangahan, Brgy. Rogongon, Iligan City in Lanao del Norte, heavy rains caused the Bayog River to swell to 50 meters, GMA News TV's News To Go reported Tuesday. The strong current prevented even 10-wheeler trucks to pass the river.

 

The local government has yet to clear a road which connects Iligan and Bukidnon, where a landslide happened around 2 a.m., Tuesday, causing heavy traffic in the area.

 

Local officials are also monitoring Maria Cristina for possible landslide because of incessant rains.

 

In Brgy. Digkilaan, a national highway was passable due to landslide and overflowing of river. At least 19,000 residents were evacuated, the television report said.

 

Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental

 

Meanwhile, authorities placed Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental under red alert due to floods and landslides. At least 1,100 families living near coastal areas, rivers and low-lying areas were evacuated.

 

Thirteen barangays were flooded, including Bugo, Puerto, Agusan, Carmen, Kauswagan, Bonbon, Nazareth, Macasandig, FS Catanico, Camaman-an, Canitoan, Brgy 26, and Bulua.

 

There were also landslides recorded in Brgys. Carmen, Camaman-an and Kugman.

 

In Brgy. Lasang, Davao City, a part of a road eroded due to strong rains. A barangay official assured that they have fund to rehabilitate the road and will repair it once the rains stopped, the television report said. 

 

The rains will still come, though. 

 

PAGASA said Tuesday the LPA—formerly Tropical Depression Agaton before it weakened—is moving at a snail's pace away from Davao.  

 

It will bring occasionally heavy rain to Eastern Visayas, the Caraga region, northern Mindanao, Compostela Valley, and Davao Oriental, according to the data from Weather Central. 

 

PAGASA advised residents to watch out for flash floods and landslides. —Amita O. Legaspi/KG, GMA News