Office of Civil Defense 11 (OCD 11) director Ednar Dayanghirang on Friday reported that six individuals died, seven were injured and one missing in Davao de Oro due to landslide and flooding caused by the trough of a low-pressure area (LPA) that affected several areas in the Davao Region.
Davao de Oro Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) identified the fatalities as Mimai Pagantupan, from Andap, New Bataan, who died from drowning; and Jerlyn Lada, Virginia Buhian, and Andoy Ananias, all from Maragusan town and were victims of landslides.
The two other fatalities were Marcilla Bantasan, from Compostela town who slipped and drowned in the river; and Junjun Romagos, from New Bataan who also died in a landslide.
Dayanghirang added that a total of 72,000 families or 278,000 individuals were affected by the LPA. A total of 12,978 families or 44,720 persons are temporarily taking shelter at the evacuation centers and 11,836 are outside the evacuation centers or at home.
“Sa 262 barangays in Davao Region, ang naa sa evacuation center 44,720 out of 278,000 ka tao comprising of 12,978 families,” Dayanghirang said during the Kapihan sa PIA at NCCC Victoria Plaza on Friday.
Dayanghirang bared that in Davao Region, Davao del Norte, particularly the municipality of Carmen, got the highest number of affected individuals with 34,000; Davao Oriental with 23,000; Davao de Oro with 12,000; and Davao City with more than 8,000.
“Why Davao del Norte? Kay patag man ug dagananan sa flood waters,” he said.
Dayanghirang said how long will the evacuees stay at the evacuation centers depends on the real situation.
“Kung muuli na sila sa ilang panimalay and dili na flooded then they can go home. However, if their houses are damaged then gina-arrange either sa relatives. Sa early recovery stage nato ang other agencies involvement like DHSUD naa sila’y financial assistance for partially and totally damaged houses. In a community sa bukid they will be provided with cash to help para ma repair ang ilang balay,” he added.
He also said that the search, retrieval, and rescue operations in some areas also depend on the level of flood waters.
Dayanghirang said the total amount of damages is still being finalized.
“Anything is possible as long as rains are there and ang haring adlaw dili permanente magpakita like gahapon nilili lang nibalik na pud ang ulan. Hopefully, muhawa na ang ulan ug ma-normalize na ang kinabuhi sa mga tao,” Dayanghirang said.
