Ondoy-type torrents submerge CDO

MANILA, Philippines - The scenes looked like Metro Manila when it was battered by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.

There was no typhoon yesterday, but the convergence of a low-pressure area and the tail-end of a cold front brought incessant torrential rains that spawned cataclysmic flash floods, submerging Cagayan de Oro City last night and stranding thousands of residents.

Floodwaters continued to rise at past 10 p.m., three hours after the state weather bureau issued a red rainfall warning – the highest alert level – over Northern Mindanao and the Zamboanga peninsula.

As five of the seven watersheds began to overflow and floodwaters kept rising, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo ordered the evacuation of residents in 11 barangays.

Local disaster management officials placed the capital city of Misamis Oriental under orange alert. Netizens posted photos and video of flooded thoroughfares and parking lots, with waters nearly reaching the roofs of cars.

Cagayan de Oro was also devastated by torrential floods spawned by Typhoon Sendong in 2011, which left at least 1,152 people dead in the city and in neighboring Iligan.