Monday, January 3, 2011

Surigao del Sur under state of calamity due to massive flooding

CAMP RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ, Libertad, BUTUAN CITY - Surigao del Sur Governor Johnny Pimentel said Surigao del Sur has been declared under a state of calamity due to massive flooding.

In a text message to GMANews.TV, Pimentel said two persons have been confirmed dead, three were reported missing and one was injured due to the floods and landslides caused by continuous rains since New Year's Day. 

Pimentel said authorities are still determining the identities of the victims.

Meanwhile, as rains subsided on Tuesday morning, a portion of the national highway in Tago, Surigao del Sur already became passable, Pimentel said. 

The cleared portion is the lone access road to and from Tandag, Surigao del Sur, the capital town of the province. 

Over 250,000 people affected by flooding

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Butuan City reported that some 253, 040 persons (or 48,472 families) from 240 barangays in five provinces of the Caraga region in Mindanao have been affected by floods and landslides. 

Nearly half of these barangays — 114 barangays from 17 municipalities — are in Surigao del Sur.

Some 26,032 families were affected by floods and landslides in Surigao del Sur, the OCD reported.

The OCD estimates that the damage to roads, bridges, and irrigation canals in the could be worth millions of pesos.

As of press time, the OCD said they have not yet received official report of the Department of Agriculture on the total official amount of damaged agricultural crops, livestock, fishponds, and fish cages. 

“We are still awaiting the official reports from them although there were initial reports that millions of pesos of crops especially ricleands that were flooded were also damaged in the entire Caraga region" OCD Caraga regional director Dr. Blanche Gobenciong said.

Two miners buried alive in Butuan City

Meanwhile, the OCD in Butuan City confirmed that two small-scale miners were buried alive as their mining tunnel in Barangay Maibo, in Butuan collapsed on Monday due to continuous rains.

Gobenciong identified the two miners who were killed as Dioscoro Albiro, Jr., 17, and Chelo Carrido, 40, both residents of Barangay Maibo, Butuan City. 

The regional office of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Butuan City reported about the incident based on Butuan City Councilor Ramon Carampatana’s report to the city council meeting on Monday. – VVP, GMANews.TV

No comments:

Post a Comment