DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/12 Jan) – A seven-year-old girl was killed and seven others were injured when a landslide struck Purok 22 in Barangay Mt. Diwata (popularly known as Diwalwal), Compostela Valley province around 7 a.m. Sunday. Three other persons remain missing and 30 families were evacuated to the Mt. Diwata Elementary School, the provincial police chief said in a report to the Philippine Information Agency regional office.
Another landslide was reported in Tuburan, Mawab town also in Compostela Valley, affecting road transport. “Army and police personnel are now clearing the road to facilitate smooth transit,” Fe Maestre of the Information Dissemination Section (IDS) in Compostela Valley said at around 2:12 p.m.
Aside form Compostela Valley, floods and other landslide incidents were also monitored in Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental due to continuous rains brought about by a low pressure area (LPA).
Senior Supt. Camilo Cascolan, Compostela Valley police chief, identified the slain girl as Jenemae dela Cruz Gonzales, a resident of Purok 7 in Barangay Mt. Diwata.
Injured were Ranchel Barrientos, 18; Reneboy Barrientos, 28; Pedro Abuyo, 43; Melodina Abuyog, 43; Bert Matrong, 14; Jessa Abuyog, 8; and Joshua Abuyog, 4; all of Purok 22.
Two persons were reported missing in Purok 2 while one was reported missing in Purok 22.
According to the weather bureau, the LPA was estimated as of 4 a.m. Sunday at 200 kilometers southeast of General Santos City.
The forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomic Services Administration (PAGASA) issued at 5 a.m. Sunday said Visayas and Mindanao will experience “cloudy skies with moderate to heavy rain showers and thunderstorms which may trigger flashfloods and landslides.”
In Compostela Valley province, 80 percent of Barangay Banagbanag in Montevista town was submerged in floodwaters as of 7:45 a.m., while 52 families were forced to vacate Barangay Bankerohan Norte and seek refuge in a church, municipal information officer Edwin Antia reported.
Cascolan’s report also indicated that a “slight landslide” occurred in Barangay Binuangan in Maco.
He said search and rescue teams had been deployed to Montevista and other areas in Compostela Valley.
In New Bataan, which suffered the brunt of super typhoon Pablo’s wrath on December 4, 2012, floods were also monitored in Barangay Andap. The Mayo River and Languan creek overflowed. Marlon Esperanza, information officer of New Bataan told MindaNews that the temporary bridge over Mayo River was totally damaged. Other flooded areas are Sitio Taytayan, Cabinuangan in the poblacion, Puroks 8, 9, 10 and 11 in Barangay Cogonon, Barangay Magsaysay, Camanlangan, Fatima, Bantacan, Kahayag and San Roque.
In Davao Oriental, Col. Benjie Madrigal, commander of the 701st Infantry Brigade, sent two truckloads of troops to assist communities in Barangay Marayag, Lupon, following the flash floods there at 4 a.m.
Madrigao, according to a report of the PIA, said a portion of a structure of the military detachment in Barangay Marayag was swept away by the flood.
In Davao del Norte, a total of 2,330 families were evacuated between 4 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday as floods affected the barangays of San Miguel, Cuambongan and Canocotan in Tagum City.