4 die, 2 missing in flashflood in Mindanao

Four people died while two others went missing and over 700 families have been affected by flashfloods and landslides brought about the recent inter-tropical convergence zone (ICTZ) in a region on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Initial government reports have placed at 2 million pesos (Dh173,814.49) the damages caused by the calamity in agriculture, property and infrastructure, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of NDRRMC, has identified the fatalities as Fatima Maghanoy, 12; Sherlyn Mae Maghanoy, 7; and Eziquil Meziah Maghanoy, 3— all residents of Kabalasan town, province of Zamboanga Sibugay—and Cesar Castro, 50. 

He said the Maghanoys were buried in a landslide as a result of ICTZ — an area near the equator where northeast and southeast trade winds come together—while Castro, who hailed from Quezon town in Bukidnon province, drowned in a flashflood.

He added that 45-year-old Josie Anastacio, a resident of Sergio Osmeña town, in Zamboanga del Norte province, had gone missing along with another Maghanoy, Eugene, 9.

About 775 families, meanwhile, have been affected by flashfloods that hit five barangays (villages)—Maa District, Matina Crossing, Matina Pangi, Talomo and Tugbok District — in Davao City, and have since been staying in evacuation centres for days now.

A landslide has also destroyed public markets, schools, day-care centres and roads in Barangays Tinago and San Isidro, in Sergio Osmeña.