More than 17,000 evacuees have sought shelter in evacuation centers in both Visayas and Mindanao regions despite the fact that flood waters began to subside, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.
According to NDRRMC, evacuees were in immediate need of basic supplies such as food, drinking water, clothes, and blankets.
NDRRMC reported that evacuees were coming from Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas, including Negros Island Region.
The agency also noted several evacuees from Zamboanga, Northern Mindanao, and Davao Regions.
“We still continue to provide assistance to our fellow countrymen led by the local government units and Social Welfare and Development Office,” the agency stated.
Some evacuees in the Caraga Region, according to NDRRMC, started to return to their homes as the weather condition were seen to be “improving.”
Brgy. Datu Montawal in Maguindanao, on the other hand, was still suffering from knee-deep floods as of Saturday, prompting officials to place the municipality under a state of calamity with 6,200 families affected.
Flooding in the areas of Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental and Davao Occidental also subsided with some evacuees returning home.
Meanwhile, Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) – Davao Region tallied a total of 2,417 displaced families as of Friday.
According to OCD Regional Director Leoncio Cirunay, Davao Oriental has the most victims affected with a total of 2,000 families, while 247 were in Davao del Norte, 170 in Compostela Valley, and one in Davao Occidental.
However, the number of affected population who did not evacuate reached up to more than 3,500 families — wherein Malita in Davao Occidental has 296 families, and Davao del Norte has 3,272 families.
Several cities in Visayas and Mindanao suffered flooding and landslides due to continuous rains caused by the tail-end of a cold front.
“The roads in the village of Mt. Diwata, Monkayo, remained impassable due to the landslide while there was still no electricity in the village of Casoon, Monkayo and all areas of Compostela Valley,” Cirunay said.
Meanwhile, OCD-Davao, on Friday issued a memorandum to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and other agencies in Davao Region to change the alert status to red alert status.
