4 dead in S. Leyte floods, mudslide

TACLOBAN CITY — Three residents of Sogod, Southern Leyte were killed and two others were seriously injured when a mudslide buried their house yesterday, while an eight-month-old girl drowned in a flooded village in this city, authorities said.

Heavy rains since last week, attributed to the intertropical convergence zone prevailing over the Visayas and Mindanao, have also caused flooding and landslides in parts of the Surigao and Agusan provinces, which comprise the Caraga region.

Rey Gozun, administrative officer of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Eastern Visayas, said continuous rains eroded the mountainside in Barangay Tampoong, Sogod town, burying the shanty of the three fatalities, identified as Mercedes Cadavos, 68; Emilio Cadavos, 52; and Lilia Cadavos, 54.

Critically injured were Julian Cawaling and 15-year-old Jovan Reyes. They were rushed to the Sogod District Hospital.

Gozun also reported the drowning of the eight-month-old infant in Barangay Apitong this city.

The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) said the Lawigan River in St. Bernard town has swelled by 2.4 meters, flooding the barangay of Tambis 1 and forcing 210 families or 1,050 people to evacuate.

Last year, a massive landslide rampaged through Barangay Guinsaugon in St. Bernard, flattening the village and leaving hundreds of residents dead.

Chief Superintendent Eliseo de la Paz, RDCC chairman, said the Agas-Agas Road, which leads to Sogod town, has been closed to traffic because landslides may occur.

Six towns in Northern Samar, struck by flooding and landslides last week, have been placed under a state of calamity. These are the towns of Catarman, Mondragon, Pambujan, San Roque, Catubig, and Silvino Lobos.

Northern Samar officials have placed the flood damage to agriculture and infrastructure at P208,655,440, of which P15.095 million accounts for losses in crops, livestock and fisheries.

Earlier, Northern Samar disaster officials said the flood death toll has reached 14, with three others reported missing and 45 more sustaining injuries.

In the Caraga region, Blanche Gobenciong, acting regional director of the OCD, said landslides have stalled the transport of relief goods from Butuan City to Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte.

Residents of low-lying villages in Butuan and a number of towns in Agusan del Sur and Norte and Surigao del Sur have sought temporary shelter in barangay halls and public schools due to rising floodwaters.

In Surigao City, at least 12 families were evacuated after a landslide struck nine houses in a newly developed subdivision.