10 dead in Negros, Zambo City floods

MANILA, Philippines - At least 10 people died in heavy flooding that swept through 13 villages in Zamboanga City and several communities in the two Negros provinces, authorities said.

In Zamboanga City, Adriano Fuego, regional civil defense director, said a teenage boy drowned when he tried to swim across a river in Barangay Tumaga last Sunday, while the bodies of one Mrs. Torres and her maid were found by rescue volunteers.

Fuego said the two women panicked as the floodwater in their village of San Jose Gusu rose to about four feet, and the heavy current swept them away.  

He said several houses along the riverbank in Barangay Pasonanca were destroyed, and thousands of residents have been evacuated since Monday.

Classes in all levels in the city were cancelled yesterday.

Heavy rains also flooded the runway of the Zamboanga International Airport, forcing the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to issue a notice to airman (Notam) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. yesterday, suspending commercial flights to and from the city.

The CAAP will issue an advisory at 7 a.m. today if another Notam will be issued.

Meanwhile, six people died from drowning and another of hypothermia amid the massive flooding in Negros Oriental, Adrian Sedillo, director of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said yesterday.

Of the seven, six are from Bayawan City, and one from Dumaguete City, he said. Their bodies have been recovered.

Five other residents were reported missing, said Sedillo, adding that Bayawan City has declared a state of calamity, as 80 percent of its urban areas were flooded.

In Negros Occidental, landslides and floods have displaced about 79,000 villagers in nine towns and cities.

Officials of Sipalay City and Ilog and Hinobaan towns have declared a state of calamity. – With Rudy Santos, Jaime Laude