DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Davao del Norte is placed under a state of calamity as Tagum City and other municipalities are still flooded following three days of heavy rain since January 16.
Tagum and four municipalities – Asuncion, Carmen, Braulio Dujali, and New Corella – have already declared a state of calamity in their areas due to flooding and the need to provide relief and rescue of residents.
The Davao del Norte provincial board (Sangguniang Bayan) approved the declaration in a special session Friday, and allocated 30% of its quick response fund amounting to P20 million for relief distribution and prioritizing areas unserved by ongoing operations.
During the session, provincial government agencies reported that 12 road structures have been damaged by floods and not passable.
The Davao del Norte Agriculturist Office reports that 1,220 hectares of rice, 313 hectares of high-value crops, and 132 hectares of corn crops, along with one irrigation project in the province were damaged by floods.
Sixty-four barangays in Davao del Norte have been affected by floods, according to the latest report of the Office of Civil Defense Region 11 on Friday. The areas include 14 barangays in Asuncion, 13 in Tagum, New Corella 11, Kapalong 9, and Carmen 9.
Davao del Norte has 223 barangays, thereby 29 percent of its barangays are hit by floods brought by the shear line that struck the Davao Region.
The floods affected 61,035 families or 255,062 persons. Some 2,222 families or 7,903 individuals are in temporary shelters with food relief provided by government agencies and non-government organizations.
Thirty-one other barangays are also hit by floods, according to OCD-11, including 22 in Davao Oriental. Governor Generoso town in Davao Oriental was badly hit with 14 barangays flooded.
Landslides struck 52 barangays with Davao de Oro hit hardest with 44. (davaotoday.com)
davao, davao del norte
