On Christmas day, around 46,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes in the Philippines after floods inundated several parts of the country, said civil defence officials on Monday.
Around 11 people lost their lives and 19 went missing after heavy seasonal rains led to a flood in eastern and southern regions of the country, the officials said.
The floods inundated the southern region on Sunday as the natural calamity ruined the Christmas celebrations of the mainly Catholic nation.
Villages and highways were swamped by overflowing rivers along with the cities of Oroquieta and Ozamiz, said the province of Misamis Occidental’s governor Henry Oaminal on government radio.
“The heart of the city was flooded including the public market. Power was cut off and there was no (telephone) signal,” he stated, speaking about Oroquieta which is the provincial capital with a population of 72,000.
“We’ve had floods before, but these are the worst rainfall and water flow levels we have ever had,” he said.
“The waters rose above the chest in some areas, but today the rains have ceased,” said civil defence worker Robinson Lacre from Gingoog city, where 33,000 people had to evacuate their homes.
The coastguard stated that members of around two dozen families belonging to Clarin and Ozamiz towns, which are flooded badly, were rescued.
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In the southern towns of Clarin, Tudela and Jimenez, seven deaths were reported due to drowning. The coastguard added that a fishing boat sank due to big waves and strong winds off the central island of Leyte’s coast on Christmas day. Two crew members lost their lives, while six people were rescued.
The civil defence office stated that two people, which included a baby girl, died in floods in the eastern towns of Tinambac and Libmanan. The coastguard stated that 23 fishermen, who were on two boats which capsized after hitting big waves in the southern city of Zamboanga, were also rescued on Sunday.
(With inputs from agencies)
