The Office of Civil Defense has renewed its calls for the public to heed warnings issued in connection to the weather disruptions arising from incoming low pressure areas in Mindanao.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, OCD Regional Director Leoncuo Cirunay said residents in the coastal areas and near the landslide prone areas should listen to and follow the advisories of authorities.
“Dapat maging alert sila and dapat makipagugnayan Silva same mga lokal na opisyal at rescuers para handa silang matulungan,” Cirunay said.
He also suggested that several disaster heads of Davao Region should activate incident command posts in the barangays just like what Davao Oriental did.
Cirunay explained that the incident command posts would serve as center for coordination, information, and communication for relief operations.
“It will also help ensure faster disaster response in the affected areas of calamities, including the far flung communities,” he added.
Meanwhile, the total cost of damage caused by the two-week weather disruption in Davao Region rose to PhP 117.5 million due to agricultural and private property damage.
Damage caused by the weather disruption was placed at PhP 117,545,829 so far, including PhP 533,000 in private properties and PhP 114,669,299 in agriculture.
The death toll, on the other hand, reached 10, with 3 injured and none missing.
Cirunay added a total of 60,945 families or 283,438 persons were affected and that 11,400 families or 54,484 individuals were accommodated in 71 evacuation centers in Davao Oriental, Compostella Valley, Davao del Notre, Davao del Sure, and Davao Occidental.
Reports coming from OCD said that water levels in the affected areas continued to subside, except for Aragon Dam in Davao Oriental where it remains at 18 meters.
Also, the OCD has been placed on white alert as the weather conditions in Davao Region has “improved.”
“But we still have to watch out for the incoming low pressure area near Mindanao although it’s still outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility,” Cirunay said.
