3 missing in Bicol floods found dead

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Three persons who have been reported missing amid heavy rains in Bicol since New Year’s Day were found dead on Monday.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Justin Groyon, 13, who fell into the Managanaga River in Bulan, Sorsogon, was found dead in Barangay Tacdugan in San Jacinto, Masbate.

The bodies of Juan Caballero and Efren del Castillo, whose boat capsized due to big waves off the coast of Barangay Sumaoy in Garchitorena, Camarines Sur, were also recovered.

Gremil Alexis Naz, OCD-Bicol spokesman, said the death toll due to flooding in the region is now five.

Ceejay Roro, 3, was removed from the list upon the request of the Camarines Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office after it was established that his death was  not related to flooding.

Forty-seven families or 189 people remain in evacuation centers across Bicol even as the weather improved yesterday.

“We are expecting more reports from areas that experienced flooding due to continuous, moderate to heavy rains induced by the prevailing tail-end of a frontal system over Bicol,” Naz told The STAR.

At least 147 flood incidents and 29 landslides were recorded across the region.

More than 9,000 people were affected by flooding in Bicol, Central Luzon and Mimaropa, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.