Mindanaotoday.com | Initial damage due to flood in Northern Mindanao pegged at P34M
By: Franck Dick Rosete
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The number of deaths due to the nonstop downpour caused by a shear line in the Northern Mindanao region have climbed to nine, a high ranking official from the Office of the Civil Defense-10 (OCD-10) confirmed Tuesday, December 27, as initial damage to properties and agriculture is pegged at P34 million.
This came as there were reported fatalities from the other parts of the region, apart from the first reported deaths in the province of Misamis Occidental, said Gilbert Conde, OCD-10 assistant director, in a virtual press conference on Tuesday.
Conde said two additional fatalities were recorded in Bukidnon province; one from Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental and a total of six deaths recorded in the province of Misamis Occidental.
According to the OCD-10’s progress report, as of 6 a.m. of December 27, the deaths in Bukidnon were recorded in the towns of San Fernando and Impalutao.
Meanwhile, the six fatalities in Misamis Occidental are composed of two deaths each from the towns of Jimenez and Tudela, and the city of Oroquieta.
Misamis Occidental Gov. Henry Oaminal earlier reported that there were already seven deaths in the province. However, the OCD-10 has yet to receive the report of the other fatality.
Apart from the recorded deaths, there are three missing individuals from Jimenez town.
The OCD-10 also recorded seven injured individuals, of which three are residents from Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental; two are from San Fernando, Bukidnon and two are from Clarin, Misamis Occidental.
Anthony Lucero, the weather service chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) regional forecasting center, said the shear line affecting Visayas and northern part of Mindanao will be moving towards the northern part of the country starting Wednesday, December 28.
“For the meantime, we are still experiencing heavy rainfall not just in Cagayan de Oro but all over Northern Mindanao. That includes Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Norte and the northern portion of Zamboanga,” Lucero said in the same virtual press conference.
The region has been experiencing nonstop rains caused by the shear line even up to this date since the PAGASA issued its first rainfall advisory due to the said weather condition on December 23.
As of 6 a.m. of December 27, the OCD-10 already tallied 14,456 families or 67,733 affected individuals of which 8,966 families or 40,564 individuals are currently staying in the evacuation centers.
The latest report from the OCD-10 also showed that the initial estimated damages to houses, infrastructure and agriculture due to the current weather condition is now at P33,926,000.
The initial estimated damage on houses in the region is P11,290,000. This covers the 80 totally damaged (P5,200,000) and 466 partially damaged (P6,090,000) houses from four different provinces.
For the infrastructure, it tallied P15,500,000 initial estimated damage and this covers damaged roads, bridges, power lines and water system.
Meanwhile, the nonstop downpour already incurred P7,136,000 initial estimated damage in the agriculture sector. This covers the damages tallied in rice production (P1,350,000), fisheries (P5,750,000) and fishing boat and fishing gears (P36,000).
The local government units of the affected areas, together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development-10, are continuously monitoring the situation in the evacuation centers to address the needs of the affected residents.The local government of Cagayan de Oro already sent a team to deliver relief goods to the affected areas. (MT)
###