Thousands displaced by Mindanao floods

Floods caused by heavy rains have so far displaced 5,962 residents in 21 barangays in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported on Friday.

"In Butuan City, 21 barangays had been affected by flooding. This includes 1,628 families or 5,962 people. All of them had been evacuated and brought to evacuation centers," OCD Caraga head Blanche Gobenciong said.

Waist-deep floods affected several barangays as Alert level 3 has been raised over the city, she added.

For its part, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said three roads and a bridge in Caraga are still impassable.

These include the Pagmam-an Bridge in Bislig; the national highway in Barangay San Vicente in Poblacion, Barbob; and the national highway in Barangay Dughan-Poblacion in Tagbina town in Surigao del Sur.

Meanwhile, in Agusan Del Sur, roads in Barangays Segovia and Lapura in Talacogon, and the Poblacion-Barangay Nuevo Trabajo Road in San Luis are still impassable.

Norala was declared under a state of calamity due to severe flooding, NDRRMC added.