Four dead as ‘Basyang’ whips Visayas, Mindanao
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Four members of a family were killed in a rain-induced landslide in Barangay Agusan here as Tropical Depression “Basyang” (international name: Penha) swept through parts of Mindanao and the Visayas, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and local disaster response officials said on Friday.
The disaster struck Zone 1 Sambulawan around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday following hours of relentless rainfall. The landslide buried a house, killing Paul Lariosa, 47, and his wife Ruffah, 35. Two of their young relatives—a 12-year-old child and an 11-month-old infant—also died in the incident, according to Nick Joaquin Jabagat, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD).
The storm caused significant flooding across Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions, sending more than 15,000 families fleeing from their homes to seek refuge in evacuation centers.
The storm, which made landfall in Surigao del Sur province on Thursday night and which had weakened into a tropical depression over Bohol province on Friday, continues to bring heavy rainfall, strong winds, and hazardous conditions, according disaster response officials.
In its 5 p.m. bulletin on Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Basyang was last located over the vicinity of Dauis, Bohol.
It was still packing a maximum wind speed of 55 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 75 kph and moving west-southwestward at 15 kph.
Pagasa said Basyang was likely to make another landfall over the southern portions of Cebu and Negros Oriental either late Friday or early Saturday before crossing Panay Island.
Memories of ‘Sendong’
The floods in Iligan City brought memories of the 2011 tragedy when the weak but rain-heavy Tropical Storm “Sendong”(Washi) brought massive flooding that killed more than a thousand people in Mindanao.
Toward midnight on Thursday, the swollen Tubod River brought water to low-lying communities of Iligan where the flood rose quickly, washing away parked vehicles.
The swelling of Tubod River forced the Department of Public Works and Highways to close the bridge along the national highway crossing it. As of 3 p.m. on Friday, authorities had almost completed the clearing of debris.
Landslides were also reported in the villages of Lambaguhon, Pugaan and Mandulog. A pedestrian steel bridge in Pugaan gave way to the strong currents of the swollen river.
Evelyn Madreo, chief of the City Social Welfare and Development Office, said that as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, social workers had documented 3,002 families (16,113 people) rescued from their homes and taken to 23 evacuation centers.
Most of the them came from the villages of Tubod, Tambacan, Mahayahay, Abuno, Tipanoy, Hinaplanon, Poblacion, Palao, Saray and Ubaldo de Laya.
Evacuation
In Cagayan de Oro, Northern Mindanao’s regional capital, a total of 643 families, or 2,298 individuals, from 14 villages were evacuated to evacuation centers by rescuers working under extreme conditions and complete darkness, said city information officer Jade Adeser.
In the rest of Misamis Oriental province, authorities said Basyang forced the evacuation of 9,339 families (32,750 people) from 15 towns.
In the Caraga region, close to 2,000 families were forced to evacuate mainly due to threats of flooding and landslides, most of them in the towns of Surigao del Sur province where Basyang first made landfall in Bayabas at close to midnight on Thursday.
Data from the OCD–Caraga showed that 1,710 families (5,884 people) were staying in 37 evacuation centers, while 101 families (268 people) sought shelter with relatives or in temporary locations.
A bridge in Cortes town was rendered impassable due to severe damage. Sections of the national highway in Lanuza and Cortes towns were also closed to traffic as DPWH crew worked overtime on Friday to clear them of landslide debris.
While casualties were low, authorities lamented the complacency displayed by many residents in the face of warnings about the dangers of Basyang.
Jabagat noted that despite repeated warnings to evacuate, residents of Barangay Agusan, where the landslide fatalities live, appeared confident that their community had never experienced such an incident before.
Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao said residents of Mahayahay village, where flooding was severe, seemingly ignored the warning, only getting in touch with rescuers when floodwater was already deep.
Siao lamented that this behavior contributed to the swarm of distress calls the rescue center had to attend to at the height of the tragedy.
Lahar threat
In the Visayas, more than 1,000 residents in Negros Occidental were preemptively evacuated on Friday morning due to the threat of lahar flow from Mt. Kanlaon.
The Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said evacuations were reported in the towns of Isabela, La Castellana, E.B. Magalona, Calatrava, Toboso, Hinoba-an and the cities of Escalante, Himamaylan, La Carlota and San Carlos.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned that heavy rains could trigger life-threatening lahar flows, sediment-laden streamflows, and flooding around Kanlaon Volcano, which remains at alert level 2 (moderate level of volcanic unrest).
In Bohol, nearly 3,947 families (11,226 people) have been evacuated, although no significant damage has been reported.
Authorities across Eastern and Western Visayas regions had suspended classes and government work on Friday to ensure public safety.
Sea travel was also suspended in several provinces, including Iloilo, Southern Leyte, Masbate, and southern Occidental Mindoro, with only limited trips allowed.
The Philippine Coast Guard said its monitoring on Friday showed than 5,000 people were stranded across 98 ports nationwide due to rough sea conditions. —REPORTS FROM CHRIS PANGANIBAN, CONG B. CORRALES, RICHEL V. UMEL, CARLA P. GOMEZ, JOEY A. GABIETA, LEO UDTOHAN, HAZEL P. VILLA, MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES, MADONNA T. VIROLA, GABRYELLE DUMALAG, ISABELLE PECHAY AND DIANNE SAMPANG
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