CARMEN, Davao del Norte — A so-called sheet flooding Wednesday morning surprised commuters and residents here after an inland waterway of a banana plantation overflowed due to heavy downpour this week.
Flood waters engulfed a portion of the national highway in Barangay New Camiling in Carmen, Davao del Norte and forced slow traffic or sending transportation to a standstill, and prevented residents from going out of their homes.
Ten households were severely hit by the said flood, their houses sent underwater or damaged by the rampaging water.
Ramon Belches, 34, a villager, told Davao Today that the flood rendered it difficult to work, with some of his personal belongings damaged by flood waters.
“This flooding has always been a headache for all of us. Every time a flood occurs, I find it very difficult to move and do my usual work,” said Belches, who works as a carpenter.
Another villager, Elma Concepcion, a mother of three, expressed dismay with the series of flooding and appealed to authorities to remedy the problem the soonest possible time.
Commuters have to wait as buses, vans, cargo trucks and other light vehicles have to move slowly through the waters.
“We are very tired of our situation. The same situation happens everytime there’s intense heavy rain. I am hoping that authorities will find a long term solution. I am appealing to Tadeco also that the canal will be dug deeper to avoid water overflow,” she said.
According to Romulo Tagalo, executive director of Davao del Norte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Counil, said “the inland waterway which the sheet flood originated was owned by Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (Tadeco).”
TADECO raises and exports cavendish bananas. It is managed by the Floirendo-owned Anflocor Group of Companies.
An online dictionary defined “sheet flooding” as an expanse of moving water or flooding events particularly from rivers or canals, where the flow of water is primarily unconfined (i.e.: not channelised) resulting in transported sediment being deposited as a broad ‘sheet’.
Tagalo said authorities placed all disaster unit teams on Code Yellow, or standby mode, due to continuous heavy rains this week over some parts of Davao del Norte, described by the weather station as “secondary to localized thunderstorm”. (davaotoday.com)
