Strong winds continue to pound Misamis barangays

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Strong winds and huge waves spawned by the southwest monsoon continued to pummel the coastal towns of Misamis Oriental for the third straight day yesterday, forcing 8,481 residents to flee their homes.

Teodoro Sabuga-a, Jr., executive officer of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC), said in a latest report to the Capitol that 40 barangays in 11 towns have been affected.

Hardest-hit was Balingasag town, with 547 families in 10 barangays displaced, followed by Villanueva town with 480 families in three barangays.

Provincial board member Jaime Caiña identified the hardest-hit villages as Calacala, Madangawal and Cogon in Balingasag, and Maputi and Linangkayan in Naawan.

He said huge waves have washed out over a kilometer stretch of the road in Barangay Calacala and damaged a spillway and other flood-control infrastructure in other coastal villages.

Caiña, who chairs the provincial board’s engineering committee, said the Capitol was still collating damage reports from the affected towns, adding though that it could reach over P50 million, excluding agricultural losses and damage to private property.

On the whole, the province’s eastern coast covering the towns of Tagoloan, Jasaan, Salay, Balingasag, Lagonglong, Villanueva and Binuangan, was heavily battered by strong winds, affecting 1,370 families and totally destroying at least 22 houses.

In the western coast, 10 barangays in the towns of Laguindingan, Libertad, Naawan and Manticao were similarly pummeled by strong winds.

The Capitol is now undertaking relief and rehabilitation activities in the affected areas. The displaced families are temporarily sheltered in various schools and gymnasiums.

Early last week, flash floods rampaged through four eastern towns of Misamis Oriental, killing a family of four, displacing 331 families and leaving over P30 million in agricultural losses and damage to infrastructure.