ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/25 May) – Continuous rains brought about by tropical storm “Chedeng” have caused flash floods in the municipality of Molave in Zamboanga del Sur, prompting the local government unit to place it under a state of calamity.
According to a report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the flooding occurred at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, causing residents to evacuate to the municipal gymnasium and church compound.
The report said a total of 1,491 families, or 8,258 persons, were affected.
Senior Supt. Jose Bayani Gucela, Zamboanga del Sur police director, said that six of the town’s 25 barangays – Culo, Maloloy-on, Sudlon, Madigason, Mabuhay and Poblacion – were submerged in floods that rose to as high as 7.5 feet after the Maloloy-on River swelled.
Ireneo Glepa, chair of the Molave Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MMDRDMC), said that relief goods were immediately distributed to the displaced families.
He said they are still conducting assessment to determine the agricultural crops that were damaged in the flash flood.
Molave, a first class municipality, is basically an agricultural town where 91.85 percent of the total land area is devoted to agriculture.
Of the town’s land area of 21,685 hectares, around 1,378.5 hectares are fertile land that are fully irrigated and planted with rice.
The other agricultural crops of Molave are corn, coconut, cassava, banana, camote and various kinds of vegetables, which are marketed to neighboring towns and cities and even as far as Cebu. (MindaNews)