Twice in a week: Rain brings flood, forces evacuations in Cagayan de Oro again

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Entire families flocked to evacuation centers as rivers and creeks overflowed and flooded communities in eastern areas of Cagayan de Oro again, following hours of rain on Wednesday, October 19.

It was the second round of evacuations in the city since Sunday, October 16, when a thunderstorm caused flooding in eastern Cagayan de Oro and the neighboring town of Tagoloan in Misamis Oriental province.

TO THE RESCUE. Local government rescuers are deployed in Cagayan de Oro again on Wednesday, October 19, as rivers and creeks overflow once more following hours of heavy rain. Families evacuate again in the city’s eastern areas. – courtesy of Menzie Montes

The state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Cagayan de Oro and other areas in Northern Mindanao were affected by localized thunderstorms.

Wednesday’s thunderstorms also affected rivers and their tributaries in the following Northern Mindanao provinces:

Misamis Oriental, including its component city of Gingoog
Bukidnon
Lanao del Norte
Misamis Occidental
Camiguin

Bencyrus Ellorin, the head of the communications group of Mayor Rolando Uy’s office, said city hall opened evacuation centers in the villages of Gusa, Cugman, Tablon, and FS Catanico after bodies of water swelled again.

Just like Sunday, the city saw incessant rain from late in the afternoon until evening.

The flooding made several roads and sections of a highway leading to Misamis Oriental impassable to cars and smaller vehicles.

Thousands of motorists and commuters were stranded for hours.

Videos that went viral on social media showed floodwaters nearly reaching the entrances of malls in downtown Cagayan de Oro.

Rampaging flood waters hit communities, wrecking several small houses in at least three villages in eastern Cagayan de Oro.

In Barangay Cugman, a river rose high and nearly submerged a bridge where vehicles queued during a traffic jam.

In the western part of the city, the water level at a section of the Iponan River rose by nearly three meters in just about 12 minutes, data from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) showed.

When the rain stopped and the flood dried out, local government workers found themselves in the middle of the highway in the wee hours, shoveling out mud, sand, and gravel from construction sites, and hauling off the debris and other traffic obstructions. – Rappler.com

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