MindanaoToday.com | Flooding causes mass evacuation in Normin
By: Uriel Quilinguing
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Intermittent rains due to southwest monsoon and inter-tropical convergence zone for over a week caused massive flooding in Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte provinces of Northern Mindanao region, prompting thousands of residents to seek safer grounds.
The Office of Civil Defense in Region 10 (OCD-10) reported on Sunday, July 14, that some 468 families composed of 1,667 individuals were still sheltered in seven evacuation centers. At the height of the flooding on Friday, July 12, the number of evacuees swelled to 9,309 individuals from 2,441 families at the 14 evacuation centers.
OCD-10’s report also mentioned that a cadaver was found on Sunday floating along a river in Kabacan, North Cotabato which was eventually identified by her husband, but their daughter remain missing, as of this posting. The two went missing when they tried crossing Pulangi River in Maramag town on Friday night.
Bukidnon’s Kalilangan town proper tallied the most number of affected residents with 7,045 persons from 1,828 families, most of them from Barangays Central Poblacion, North Poblacion, Ninoy Aquino, Macaopao, and Kinura.
Ignacio Apa-ap II, a resident of Barangay Kinura, said it rained heavily about 4 pm of Saturday and by 7 pm their village was inundated and floodwaters subsided morning of Saturday. It was the first time their house was flooded in years.
Apa-ap admitted though that floodwaters do not drain easily especially in the town proper because their locality is cauldron-shaped. Kalilangan is bordered by Kalatungan and Kidangin peaks in Bukidnon and Kiliangliang with Piapayungan mountains in Lanao del Sur.
In Valencia City, 436 families from the villages of Catumbalon, Lumbayao, Maapag, and Pinatican also left their homes for safety. Malaybalay City and the municipalities of Pangantucam, Maramag, and San Fernando, all of Bukidnon, also reported of affected residents due to flooding.
Lanao del Norte’s Kapatagan and Sapad towns were also affected by heavy rains and several families had to be assisted by rescuers in leaving their houses in flood-prone areas.
Several sections of the Sayre National Highway in Bukidnon, particularly those in Maramag, San Fernando, Pangantucan, and Valencia, were momentarily impassable to motorists due to landslides on Friday and Saturday. These were subsequently cleared by personnel from the local disaster risk reduction and management offices.
The Department of Social Welfare and Develoment Office 10 has yet to report on the number of family food packs and other forms of assistance they have given to the evacuees.
Assessment on damage to infrastructure and agriculture are still ongoing. (30)
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