158 families displaced by Davao del Norte floods

DAVAO CITY, Philippines–At least 158 families in a Davao del Norte town have fled their homes after heavy rains due to a low pressure area caused rivers to swell and flooded parts of the province, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said on Thursday, March 20.

OCD Region 11 director Loreto Rirao said the evacuated families were from the town of Asuncion. He said Tagum City and the town of Kapalong were also affected by flooding, but reports from these areas were still being gathered as of posting.

Rirao said Libuganon River was subsiding but Saug River has not “although water discharge is faster than normal.”

Rirao said the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is now doing the rounds to measure water levels in affected areas.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Wednesday, March 19, that it had spotted a low pressure area east of Surigao del Norte, that would bring rains to the Visayas and Mindanao. – Rappler.com