Surigao, Agusan communities flooded on Christmas Day

BUTUAN CITY – Some parts of Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte experienced heavy rains on Saturday night and greeted Christmas Day on Sunday with floods.

Strong winds also forced the Philippine Coast Guard stations in Surigao del Norte and Siargao Island to temporarily suspend sea travels.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) dispatched personnel to Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte as families were rescued in the villages of Mahanub, Villaflor, Ipil, Cambo-ayon and Poniente with the help of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO).

“Rescue operation is still ongoing and we are still determining the number of families affected by floods in these barangays,” BFP-Gigaquit said in a statement.

The Surigao City DRRMO conducted an emergency evacuation operation at around 2 a.m. Sunday in flooded areas of Sitio Dolong and Sitio Baybay Magallanes in Barangay Washington and transferred a senior citizen, two women and two children to a temporary shelter.

The CDRRMO also rescued a woman, a teenager and two dogs in Purok Sampaguita, Barangay Taft.

In Agusan del Norte, BFP-Jabonga said it is still determining the number of affected families as of press time.

As of the 11 a.m. bulletin of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, moderate to heavy rains with at times intense rains will be experienced over Eastern Visayas, Surigao del Norte and Dinagat islands, while moderate to heavy rains are expected over Southern Palawan, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao and the rest of Caraga and the Visayas.

Flooding and rain-induced landslides are likely to happen in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards and in areas with significant volume of rainfall. (PNA)