'Zoraida' causes floods in landfall area, fizzles out in Agusan

TROPICAL DEPRESSION Zoraida triggered floods in Mindanao's eastern coastal province of Davao Oriental when it made a landfall in Baganga town Tuesday morning (November 12), but its weak thrust inland caused minimal damage as it fizzled out later when it reached further inland in Agusan del Sur.

Evacuees and disaster and rescue personnel told radio and television interviews that preparations helped cushioned the impact after Zoraida entered Mindanao through Baculin Bay, Baganga, the same town where super typhoon Pablo also made its landfall and devastated a large swath of eastern Mindanao in December last year.

While super howler Yolanda brought strong winds last week even though it passed through the eastern Visayas, Zoraida only brought rains and kept disaster agencies on tight watch over the main river systems in the Davao Region, which showed elevated water level and strong currents.

Rains had been continuous in Davao Oriental but intermittent in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley since Monday.  Vigil was being made in the headlands of New Corella, Asuncion, Kapalong and Santo Tomas towns of Davao del Norte, which feed into the Hijo River,  Libuganon River and Salug River, the usual waterways that overflow their banks and send floods to its riverbank villages, and into the lowlands of Sto. Tomas, Carmen and Tagum City.

Some farms have been harvested early of their root crops as they were told to evacuate since Monday night.

Residents in seven riverside barangays in Tagum City evacuated though when they were flooded.  Riverside barangays in Panabo City were also flooded, and in Carmen town, three feet of floodwaters also hit Barangay New Camiling when the dike yielded. Buses were ordered to detour, or stop plying the Davao City and Tagum City route over this flood.

Disaster officials were also validating report of one missing person in Kapalong town.

Government was also looking at continuous rains in Compostela Valley that may cause landslide in the mountainous areas, including the populated small-scale gold areas in Diwalwal in Monkayo town and Boringot in Pantukan town.

Residents in New Bataan and Compostela towns, the most heavily battered towns when Pablo struck last year, have already prepared themselves and had sought safer grounds.

In Davao City, heavy rains poured as early as dawn Tuesday but its six rivers only showed slight increase in water level, said Dante Donayre, operation officer of the Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

There were no major damage caused.

Preemptive safety moves save many Mindanao lives, properties

EARLY preparations, and being spared of being in the path of storm Yolanda's fury, minimized loss of lives and properties in the northern and northeastern part of Mindanao, disaster and relief agencies would say.

Only one death was recorded, in Surigao del Sur's coastal village of Lingig, when an electric post fell on a fisherman trying to salvage his floating banca. Incidentally, the victim was already in the evacuation center but decided to return to the coast after sea waters rose and pounded on the coast.

Overall, about 18,000 residents in the Caraga Region, comprised by the two Surigao and two Agusan provines, sought shelter in different evacuation centers, mainly public gymnasium, public schools and in houses of relatives.

A bigger number, more than 70,000, also moved away from the coastal areas of Misamis Oriental, which was one the heavily battered areas in 2011 when a weaker typhoon Sendong, but carrying more rains, sent floodwaters cascading though its mountains, carrying logs, and smashed through their way to sea, carrying people and properties.

Several hours after Yolanda made its landfall in Eastern Samar at 9:00 am Friday, evacuees from the two Surigao provinces already began returning to their homes, except for those living in the island province of Dinagat off Surigao del Norte, which was near the typhoon path.

"Yolanda did not create much negative impact in the Agusan side of the Caraga Region, except for continued heavy downpour. Only a few areas, in fact, were flooded," said.Liza Mazo, director for the Caraga Region of the Office of Civil Defense.

Only moderately strong winds were felt and scarttered raincloud formations were seen elsewhere down south of Mindanao, and classes were not called off in Davao City, in the southeastern part of Mindanao. Many classes though, were not full of their pupils and students, as the projected fury of the storm scared many residents.

Typhoon Yolanda, (international code name Haiyan) packed winds of 315 kilometers per hour and gustiness of 379 kms. when it made landfall in Eastern Samar in central Philippines on Friday

The wind velocity amazes scientists after it was estimated two days earlier of packing 193 kms and gustiness of 202 kms, speeds that already make this typhoon of the most ferocious typhoons or tropical cyclones in the world.

These photographs show why the center of the storms is often termed the eye of the storm.

Pacific coastal villages emptied as ‘Yolanda’ nears

DAVAO CITY, the Philippines  - The southern Philippine island of Mindanao appears to be heeding the bitter and tragic lessons of two devastating typhoons of Sendong and Pablo, as the northeastern coastal villages were already emptied of villagers by Wednesday, and as cities and provinces away from the projected path of the coming typhoon firmed up evacuation and rescue capabilities in case of a typhoon detour.

On Wednesday, residents abandoned all the coastal barangays of Dinagat Island off Surigao del Norte, the entire coastal villages of Surigao del Norte and the five coastal municipalities of Surigao del Sur,  said Liza Mazo, director for the Caraga Region of the Office of Civil Defense.

“These are all voluntary evacuations that happened on Wednesday,” she told BusinessMirror on a mobile phone interview Thursday.

She said the Caraga Region has been placed on Signal No. 3 as the typhoon Yolanda, packing winds of as strong as 250 kilometers per hour and with wider path, continued to trek on its projected route and expected to enter Southern Samar by 9:00 am Friday.

“We just hope that it would not make a landfall and only travel through the seas,” she said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the eastern coasts of the two Surigao provinces, which face the Pacific Ocean, already experienced heavy downpour carried by gusty winds. The interior provinces of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur, sustained only heavy downpour though, the gusty winds dispersed by the mountains between the Surigao provinces and the Agusan provinces.

Further down south to Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, residents were equally prepared, scared by the repeat of the tragic landfall of Typhoon Pablo in December 2012. Almost 2,000 persons were either killed or missing, more than half of whom were lost in the mudslide that covered a big part of New Bataan town of Compostela Valley.

A teacher in Cateel, Davao Oriental interviewed by a radio station here on Thursday, said residents were seen gathering in the town center awaiting official directive of town officials.  Cateel, along with Baganga and Boston , were flattened by Pablo.

Reports from Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte, and their cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, indicated organized evacuation plan and stocking of food and water. These areas were also the ravaged places when typhoon Sendong hit northern Mindanao in December 2011.

In Davao City, the Emergency Response Unit 911 has briefed locally organized disaster rescue teams in the barangays on their coordination already put in  place several years ago.

Emmanuel Jaldon, chief of the unit, said disaster monitoring would be helped by the cameras and gadgets to monitor the rise in river water levels, which were installed in three rivers south of downtown, and including the large Bankerohan River running across the southern edge of downtown.

Liwayway Caligdong, assistant division head of the City Social Services and Development Office, said the social welfare officers and barangay health workers assigned in the district offices would be expected to ensure an organized evacuation to designated centers, which were usually government structures, commonly the barangay gymnasium, public school buildings and even chapels.

“We appeal to all residents to please, prepare for this strong typhoon coming our way,” he said. “Stock up on food and water, ensure you have flashlights, candles, and other survival items.”