Flash floods dampen Caraga folk’s Christmas

BUTUAN CITY — Some 5,000 residents of low-lying areas across the Caraga region were forced to flee their homes and sought refuge in evacuation centers on Christmas Eve as floodwaters spawned by four days of heavy rains swept through their villages.

The number of evacuees may rise depending on whether the weather would improve, said Chief Superintendent Rene Jamolod Elumbaring, chairman of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC), in a text message to The STAR.

According to reports reaching the regional Office of Civil Defense, 1,086 residents or 216 families in six Surigao City barangays evacuated.

The affected families were given temporary shelter in the city gymnasium and in the hall and health center of Barangay Rizal.

In Agusan del Norte, particularly in low-lying villages of Remedios T. Romualdez town, locals also had to flee their homes due to rising floodwaters.

In Barangay Cuyago in Jabonga, Agusan del Norte, a stretch of the national highway was flooded, stranding small vehicles going to and coming from Surigao City.

In a number of low-lying barangays here, residents had to seek the help of the city government to rescue them from their flooded homes.

City officials initially placed the flood damage to agricultural crops and livestock at about P10 million.

In the lakeside town of Mainit in Surigao del Norte, volunteers from different church and socio-civic groups and municipal workers joined hands in evacuating some 100 to 160 families.

Mainit Mayor Rogelio Gatpolintan, parish officials headed by Fr. Robert Roman and the local office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development spearheaded the rescue and relief operations.

The flash floods affected seven of the 21 barangays of Mainit town, as well as low-lying villages in Jabonga and Santiago towns, both in Agusan del Norte.

In Surigao del Sur, some 70 families in flood-prone San Miguel town also had to flee their homes, according to the local disaster coordinating council. 

Provincial administrator and former vice governor Johnny Pimentel told The STAR that the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council chaired by his brother, Gov. Vicente Pimentel, was still validating reports of flood damage to livestock and agricultural crops in the affected areas.

In Agusan del Sur, people living near the banks of the Agusan River were alerted on possible evacution should it overflow due to the continuous rains.

Weather forecasters expect more rainy days ahead in most parts of Mindanao and the Visayas due to low pressure areas in the Pacific Ocean.