Vicky hits Mindanao on a scale never seen since 2014 Seniang

CALAMITY IN THE SOUTH A Philippine Coast Guard team comes to the aid of residents caught in the flooding at Barangays Mangagoy and Tabon in the city of Bislig, Surigao del Sur province, on Saturday. —PHOTO COURTESY OF PCG NORTHEAST MINDANAO

SAN FRANCISCO, SOUTH AGUSAN – Unusually heavy rain even before Tropical Depression Vicky made landfall in Davao Oriental on Friday afternoon triggered flooding that displaced thousands in different parts of Mindanao, especially in Agusan del Sur province.

The rain, which started in the early hours of Friday and lasted for more than a day, was hailed by local officials as the worst weather disturbance in Mindanao since the 2014 attack by Tropical Storm Seniang (international name: Jangmi).

Vicky also wreaked havoc in the Visayas, where she generated strong waves that destroyed a coastal settlement in the city of Lapu-Lapu and triggered a landslide in Leyte province.

At least three people were reported to have died.

The neck-deep flooding on Friday was unprecedented in the city of Rosario, Agusan del Sur, said Rubén Diego, a 28-year-old resident, who fled with his pregnant wife when the water engulfed their home in the village of Poblacion.

Another resident, Verina Bughao, 68, said many of them were surprised by how quickly the waters rose. Ronald Pontay, 45, said that “at 11pm (Friday), he went up more than my hips. It was cold; I decided to go and hit the road with my seven children and my 74-year-old mother. “

In neighboring San Francisco, Elmer Luzon, general manager of the San Francisco Water District, said Friday’s rains reached an unusual volume of 490 millimeters at 4 p.m., up from 129 mm at 6 a.m. the same day.

Deaths, damages

The volume was well above the 11mm daily average recorded in northeast Mindanao, according to Luzon, who said the water district uses similar gauges to those used by the meteorological office. San Francisco police reported one death Saturday, identified as Francis Ian Batisting, a 29-year-old employee of the provincial government’s environmental office.

Batisting and his partner, Amasona Mondejar, were on a motorcycle heading to the city of Talacogon when their vehicle was swept off the road by heavy flooding. Batisting’s body was later found in another town, while Mondejar was rescued by neighbors.

In Leyte, authorities said neighbors Evelina Larano, 67, and Junilanda Milano, 62, from the city of Mahaplag, were killed in a landslide that buried their homes in the village of Cuatro de Agosto around 4 a.m. am on Saturday.

In the city of Lapu-Lapu, around 6,000 people were evacuated when strong waves washed away at least 76 houses in Barangay Ibo on Friday night.

In Surigao del Sur, Army Lt. Krisjuper Andreo Punsalan of the 3rd Special Forces Battalion said more than 1,000 families were also forced to flee their flooded homes.

Palawan on the way

The Philippine Astronomical, Geophysical and Atmospheric Services Administration (Pagasa) said Vicky was expected to make landfall in Palawan province around 11 p.m. Saturday before moving into the Western Philippine Sea on Sunday.

The meteorological bureau said the tropical depression was 70 kilometers southeast of Palawan’s capital, the city of Puerto Princesa, as of Saturday night and was moving west-northwest at 20 kilometers per hour.

It had maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 55 kilometers per hour, Pagasa said.

Vicky is expected to remain a tropical depression as it crosses the archipelago and intensifies into a tropical storm as it reaches the Western Philippine Sea. He is expected to be outside the Philippine area of ​​responsibility on Monday. Forecasters said they were also monitoring rainfall over eastern Luzon and the Visayas caused by the northeast monsoon, or “amihan,” and the end of a cold front.

Heavy to intense rains are expected in the Bicol, Quezón, Aurora, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya provinces, while moderate to heavy rains are expected in Apayao, Kalinga, Montaña Province, Ifugao, Oriental Mindoro , Kalayaan Islands and the rest of the continent. Cagayan Valley. —REPORTS FROM CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN, ERWIN MASCARIñAS, JOEY GABIETA, DALE ISRAEL, GERMELINA LACORTE, LEILA B. SALAVERRIA, PATRICIA DENISE M. CHIU, AND NIKKA G. VALENZUELA

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