Floods force 638 families out of homes in Misamis Occidental

BARELY PASSABLE Vehicles are able to pass through the national road along Barangay Burgos, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, on Friday afternoon as floodwaters subsided. —DAPITAN CITY DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OFFICE PHOTO

DIPOLOG CITY—Some 638 families or 2,215 individuals in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental were displaced from their homes on Friday as sustained heavy rains spawned flooding in their communities.

As of 6 a.m. on Saturday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said the families were still staying in eight evacuation centers and their needs supported by emergency aid.

The families come from five villages of Oroquieta City.

As rains persisted on Friday morning, the state weather bureau issued an orange rainfall warning over Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte provinces, and raised an alert for possible floods and landslides.

Due to the inclement weather spawned by the intertropical convergence zone, the city government on Friday called off classes in all levels in public and private schools.

Classes were also suspended on Friday in the cities of Dipolog and Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte due to the rains that brought flooding in several villages.

In Dapitan City, Mayor Seith Frederick Jalosjos also suspended work in government offices.

As rivers swelled due to continuous rains, Jalosjos ordered preemptive evacuation in the villages of Burgos, Oyan, Ilaya, Barcelona and Ba-ao.

The road in Burgos village was submerged in water, prompting authorities to temporarily close it to vehicles. By 3 p.m. on Friday, vehicles were allowed to pass the road.