Major streets in Davao City were submerged by floods, which also left thousands of commuters and vehicles stranded following a sudden downpour on the evening of Jan. 22.
According to Rodrigo Bustillo, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) operations officer, the waters started to swell starting 11 p.m. and subsided at 1 a.m.
“We experienced street flooding yesterday night (Jan. 22), particularly in the Bago Aplaya, Dumoy, and Toril areas,” Bustillo told TIMES.
“We also recorded a rise of water levels because of the confinement of the street flooding, hence, we recommended a pre-emptive evacuation in some areas in Toril,” he added.
According to Bustillo, 30 families were immediately evacuated and they were assisted by the Toril Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee personnel and staff.
“Those families were moved away from the areas with high flood level. When it subsided, they also went back to their homes immediately,” he said.
“The water from the streets went to the coastal area and flushed away some portion of the seaboard. This caused some houses to be partially damaged,” Bustillo said.
Aside from the Southern part, the downtown areas also experienced some street flooding.
But Bustillo noted that the rivers are still in the safe level. “Our rivers are still normal. There is a recorded slight increase with the water level though but it did not cause flooding,” he said.
“As of now, our Davao river is in the yellow level. This means that the public is alerted but it is still safe,” Bustillo added.
No injuries were recorded due to the floods.
