'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.