11 miners rescued in Compostela Valley

DAVAO CITY — At least 11 miners were reportedly rescued after they were trapped inside a mining tunnel in Barangay Mainit, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley, following days of incessant rains.

Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza, commander of the Army’s 1001st Infantry Brigade based in Mawab, Compostela Valley, said the miners were rescued Friday after they were locked up inside the tunnel blocked by rocks and boulders.

"I understand that the miners are all now safe after they were rescued by emergency responding teams from the local and provincial government," Holganza said.

Holganza further explained that the disaster coordinating officials in the areas have been monitoring not only the landslides in Nabunturan but also in the gold-rush site at Mt. Diwalwal in the neighboring town of Monkayo.

Meanwhile, several other towns in Southern Mindanao have also experienced flooding, displacing hundreds of families following days of continuous rains this week.

"We have fielded our men to the different areas because of the threat of more floods and landslides as the rains have not stopped," Holganza said.

The Office of Civil Defense in Region XI also warned that rains will continue to fall in this part of the country due to an inter-tropical convergence zone.

At least 500 families in the towns of Asuncion, Kapalong, Braulio Dujali, Carmen, Sto. Tomas and Tagum City in Davao del Norte were displaced because of the floods brought about by incessant rains in the past few days.

Ascuncion and Kapalong were also placed under a state of calamity as the two towns still remain under water.

Disaster and health officials facilitated not only the evacuation of the affected families to safer grounds but also the distribution of necessary medicines after several of the victims fell ill due to inclement weather.

Potable water has also been distributed to the affected towns after the water system in the said areas was also affected by the floods. Meanwhile, the roads leading to Jose Abad Santos town in Davao del Sur was rendered impassable because of the landslide.

Over 100 families were also displaced by floodwaters in the town of Malita, also in Davao del Sur.

Landslides were also noted in five barangays in Malita that alarmed officials because certain roads were rendered impassable.

Authorities have been closely monitoring the banks of four major waterways here in Davao City, including the Davao River and the Lipadas River as there is a possibility they might overflow because of continuous rains.