Thousands displaced by floods in Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO – About 5,000 families in the southern Philippines have been displaced by flash floods and large waves spawned by heavy rains, officials said yesterday.

Over a hundred houses have been destroyed and many people are fleeing their homes in the face of rising waters in the northern part of the southern island of Mindanao, civil defense officials said.

Regional civil defense director Carmelito Lupo said that most of those whose homes were destroyed were from Cagayan de Oro City but officials were still trying to get information on the situation in the surrounding areas.

Local officials in Cagayan de Oro said that over 2,000 families had to be evacuated to basketball courts due to rising waters on riverbanks.

Evacuations were also under -way in nearby Gingoog City and other areas where flash floods have been reported, said Gingoog City information officer John Venice Ladaga in an interview with The STAR. – Ben Serrano