Floods in Santander, Samboan: Families move to safer ground

CEBU – The rains last Saturday spurred flashfloods in the southernmost towns of Santander and Samboan forcing authorities to evacuate some residents.

The local government of Samboan has evacuated the residents of barangays Poblacion, Tangbo and Bato to the Poblacion gymnasium because houses, if not washed out, had been filled with mud and rocks.

This was according to Fr. Ronaldo Sagnoy, the parish priest of Bato, Samboan. He said that it is the first time in the history of the town that this has happened.

“Grabe gyud. Daghan kaayo properties na damage,” Fr. Sagnoy said.

In Santander, flashfloods caused damage in five barangays — Pasil, Lilo-an, Talisay, Looc and Kanlumakad according to the chief of Santander police, Sr. Inspector Richard Oliver.

Oliver said that in their initial assessment, in barangay Pasil alone, almost 30 families have been affected by the flooding as their houses have been totally washed out. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

In barangay Talisay, almost half of the place was washed out by the flood.

Mud and rocks cover the road causing heavy traffic. Four houses were totally damaged with six others sustaining partial damage.

Santander Mayor Wilson Wenceslao supervised the clearing of the road and is looking for means to help the people affected.

Private 1st class Norman Mondragon of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council said that over 500 meters of road was covered with debris.

The Cebu Provincial Police Special Reaction Unit has been sent to the affected barangays to assist the residents.

Personnel from the 78th Infantry Battalion, the provincial fire department and the rescue unit have also been deployed to the area.

PO1 Anthony Aba of Santander Police station said in an interview over a local radio station that the floods have damaged a wooden bridge.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia went to the affected towns yesterday to assess the damage.

not just in Cebu

The neighboring province of Negros Oriental has also been affected by the low pressure area as five towns there are being closely monitored and five people have reportedly died.

According to Mondragon, the provincial police and local rescue teams are on stand by in Dumaguete City, Sibulan, Amlan, Valencia and San Jose due to the floods that reached waist deep.

In the Municipality of Sibulan, 10 families from barangays Maslog, San Miguel, Tubtuban and Okoy have been affected when one of its rivers overflowed.

Barangay Bio-os of Amlan also reported that water was waist deep and six families have lost their homes.

Negros Oriental Governor Emilio Macias II said that three people perished after they were washed out by the flood and two other unidentified minors died because of landslide in Sagbang , Valencia.

There are also reports that some of the residents were already on top of their homes’ roof.

Col. Cesar Yano of the 302nd Brigade of the Phil. Army said that dozens of vehicles were unable to travel past bridges as rivers overflowed. —with Jonanna Natavio and Guam Logroño of Banat News/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)