CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Heavy rains flooded the business district, school campuses and many villages Monday, prompting the city council to declare a state of calamity.
The declaration allows government access to funds for relief operations and related assistance.
Thousands of residents were evacuated from low-lying areas.
The rains were spawned by a low pressure area and the tail-end of a cold front that resulted in massive flooding in the city and other parts of Misamis Oriental.
As of 12:15 p.m. yesterday, about 2,999 families or 12,452 individuals had to move out of their dwellings to escape the rampaging waters as flashfloods damaged houses and properties in many areas of Northern Mindanao.
In Misamis Oriental, there were reports of swelled waterways, landslides and flashfloods.
There were six reported casualties.
Four persons reportedly died due to the flood, said Fernando Dy, the officer-in-charge of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
The casualties were identified as Jaime Chan, 3, Barangay Agay-ayan and Nilo Quiloman, 54, Barangay Santiago, all of Gingoog City; Kian Montecino, 10, Barangay Awang, Opol; and CJ Lapuz, 7, Barangay Mahayahay, Magsaysay.
In Cagayan de Oro, two persons were reported dead by the CDRRMO, namely, Renny Boy Cabido, 14, upper Zone 3, Barangay Agusan; and an unidentified person who was killed in Barangay Balulang.
Senior Supt. Danildo Tumanda, head of the Police Regional Public Safety Battalion, said the still unknown casualty was killed while fishing along the riverbank late Monday where his body was found a few hours later.
A certain Abel Uano from Medina town is still missing.
Dy said 1,654 families or 6,827 individuals were either ordered or voluntarily evacuated in the province. At least 80 percent already went back to their homes.
The Provincial Social Welfare and Development prepared 1,315 food packs for the displaced families.
In Cagayan de Oro, there were 1,345 families or 5,625 persons who left their homes and had to stay in evacuation centers, said Maricel Rivera, the city information officer.
Dy said among the hardest hit by the floodwaters in the province was Gingoog City, where 421 families were evacuated while in Manticao landslides caused road blockades. (CAMCER IMAM)