DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 30 Dec) – The number of families affected by the recent flooding in the Davao Region – particularly in the provinces of Davao Occidental and Davao Oriental – has increased to 6,476, or 28,686 individuals, according to a report released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday.
Of this total, 6,432 families, or 28,534 persons, are residents of 34 barangays in Davao Occidental, and 44 families, or 152 persons, are residents of three barangays of Davao Oriental.
The agency also reported that 338 families, or 1,348 persons, are currently taking shelter at nine evacuation centers in Davao Occidental.
The flooding, caused by the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ, destroyed 238 houses and partially damaged 580.
Karlo Alexie C. Puerto, information officer II of the Office of the Civil Defense-Davao, told reporters in a message sent via Viber that personnel from various municipal disaster risk reduction and management offices are conducting validation on the extent of damage caused by the severe weather.
He said responders are having difficulties accessing the areas devastated by the severe weather due to roadblocks and poor phone signal, particularly in far-flung communities of Davao Occidental, delaying the reporting of the status of affected families.
“We expect that in the next few reports, figures on the affected population will stabilize,” he said.
According to the NDRRMC, two persons have been reported missing, while 20 others were injured by the floods in the two provinces. Of the injured victims, 13 were residents of Barangay Poblacion, three in Barangay Kibalatong, one in Barangay Bolila, one in Barangay Fishing Village, and two in Barangay Mana in Malita town.
Meanwhile, the missing were a 70-year-old female resident of Barangay Poblacion and a 37-year-old male resident of Barangay Lais in Malita town, Davao Occidental.
Puerto said that validation for the missing persons is still ongoing.
According to NDRRMC, the weather disturbance that started on the evening of Dec. 26 caused flooding in 13 towns in the two provinces. The floods in these towns had already subsided.
The municipality of Don Marcelino in Davao Occidental has been in a state of calamity since Dec. 28. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
