DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/19 January) – The Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) of Davao del Norte has recommended placing the entire province under a state of calamity due to the massive flooding caused by a shear line weather system that affected many parts of Mindanao.
The recommendation was made during the emergency meeting Thursday of the PDRRMC attended by Gov. Edwin Jubahib, PDRRMO head Glenda Delideli, and other officials, the provincial office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government said on its Facebook page.
Davao del Norte towns Braulio E. Dujali, Asuncion, New Corella, Carmen, and Tagum City had already declared a state of calamity due to the floods spawned by heavy rains.
On Thursday, Jubahib ordered a suspension of classes in all levels in public and private schools and work in all government offices on Friday, which “shall take effect until the situation improves.”
Vice Governor Carlo Uy said an allocation of 30 percent from the provincial Quick Response Fund (QRF) from the province’s calamity fund will be used to help families in the province that were affected by the heavy rains.
He said on his Facebook page on Thursday that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, which was scheduled to hold a special session on Friday, will support the proposal for a state of calamity to enable the province to use its QRF.
The floods had affected 64 barangays, 61,035 families and 255,062 individuals in Davao del Norte, according to the report from the Office of Civil Defense-Davao Region (OCD-Davao) as of 11:19 a.m. Friday.
Affected were 14 barangays in Asuncion, 13 in Tagum City, 11 in New Corella, 9 each in Kapalong and Carmen, 4 in Sto. Tomas, and 2 each in Panabo City and Braulio E. Dujali.
According to the Facebook page of One DavNor Network News, the province’s news arm, Jubahib said they still have P129.98 million in calamity fund.
The floods reportedly damaged over P11 million in crops covering close to 500 hectares of farmlands, affecting around 500 farmers.
The provincial Disaster Response Cluster through the Provincial Camp Coordination Camp Management was activated to cater to the needs of the evacuees. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
