Floods affect more than 5,000 Caraga residents

BUTUAN CITY — More than 5,000 residents of 44 low-lying barangays in the Caraga region — which covers the Surigao and Agusan provinces — are affected by floods that swelled Tuesday night, civil defense officials said.

At least nine newly built houses at Acean Heights Subdivision in Barangay Bonifacio, Surigao City, two wooden bridges in Surigao del Sur and roads in five villages in Butuan City have been destroyed by floods and landslides that have struck the region following days of continuous rains.

The regional office of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) placed the number of affected families at 1,997 or 5,715 people, but said this may increase if the rains continue and swell the Agusan River and its tributaries. 

The weather bureau has warned people living near the Surigao River, all waterways draining into Lake Mainit in Agusan del Norte, and on the banks of the Hinatuan and Tago rivers in Surigao del Sur to take extra precautions should the heavy rains continue.

Villagers near mountain slopes were also warned of possible landslides. 

Weather forecasters blamed the bad weather on the tail-end of a cold front extending over Southern Luzon and an intertropical convergence zone that has prevailed in the South.

The OCD said the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council is closely monitoring the situation and readying emergency responses.

"The different municipal disaster coordinating councils in the region are now convening to discuss the necessary actions to take," said acting OCD regional director Blanche Gobenciong.