A river in Barangay Lasang in the boundary between Davao City and Panabo City overflowed displacing more than a hundred families last Tuesday.
The Fatima River overflowed at about 4:30 a.m., inundating at least two sub-villages and displacing several families, Lasang barangay chairman Allan Simu-ag said.
Simu-ag said the residents were caught by surprise as the river has not overflowed in recent years.
Instead, he said, the villagers were expecting another body of water — the Licanan River — to spill over following hours of downpour upstream.
People living near the Licanan River had been preparing the night before after receiving information that heavy rainfall was affecting the upland Paquibato district.
“Licanan was normal until this morning. We did not expect the Fatima River (to overflow),” the barangay official told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) in a telephone interview.
Until past 7 a.m. Tuesday, the water was still knee-deep, he said.
Motorists from Davao del Norte and those exiting Davao City were stranded.
Also flooded were the Task Force Davao checkpoint and the Dole Stanfilco banana plantation.
Simu-ag said the City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) has already sent a mobile kitchen to serve hot meals to affected residents. (PNA)
