Davao Norte towns alerted for floods

Davao del Norte local government authorities alerted residents on Thursday for possible flooding as the provincial disaster office reported that a person is missing and some 30 families in Kapalong town have evacuated to safer grounds following continuous rains in the province since Wednesday morning.
Sonio Sanchez, Davao del Norte Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) officer, reported Thursday morning their ongoing search and rescue operation for the missing person in Kapalong after they were hindered Wednesday night due to the rising water of the Saug River.
He said the PDRRMC also alerted five flood-prone areas as municipal and city disaster management councils were activated when they monitored on the ground that various rivers were swelling with flood waters following continuous rains that started on New Year’s Day.
Alerted were the municipalities of Talaingod, Kapalong, Asuncion, Santo Tomas and Tagum City.
The PDRRMC recommended a preemptive evacuation of people especially those in downstream communities here and in the towns of Sto. Tomas and Carmen, which are traversed by the the big Libuganon River.
The rains in the province were brought in by the low pressure area (LPA) earlier spotted southeast of Mindanao.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Wednesday said the LPA has a slim chance of intensifying into a tropical depression as it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
Based on the 5 a.m. Thursday bulletin of PAGASA, the LPA was spotted in the vicinity of Sta. Josefa, Agusan del Sur.
The LPA was forecast to move towards the Zamboanga Peninsula on Thursday and head towards Northern Borneo by Friday. [PNA]