Devastating flash floods have perished hundreds of people in their beds in two Philippine cities, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao. Twelve hours of heavy rain from typhoon Sendong(Washi) had swelled rivers and sent water crashing into homes and overturning vehicles.
957 have died; at least 49 are still missing. Many are believed to have been swept out to sea by the torrents. Rescue vessels were scouring the water for survivors.
Roadways were cut off and there was no electricity, frustrating relief efforts in the mentioned cities which are crossed by estuaries and rivers, as well as encompassing villages.
Thousands of troops, supported by thousands of local law enforcement, reservists, coast guard officers and private volunteers, were mobilized for rescue and clean up. Army spokesman Colonel Leopoldo Galon said: “I have not seen anything like this before.”
“It occurred at nighttime and many individuals were worn out because of the Christmas events that they had been to. And the water added hard while it was high tide. I personally saw 14 individuals deceased in the day when the search and rescue was going on,” said local resident Juvanni Yahya Caballero on why so many were lost so quickly.
Typhoons and floods are uncommon in this part of the Philippines. Head of the country’s Municipal Support Workplace, Benito Ramos, said that the high casualties were caused “partly” by “the complacency of people because they are not in the regular course of storms”. However, there had been warnings by authorities that the storm was approaching, which poured down a month of average rainfall in the area in just 12 hours.
Iligan’s mayor, Lawrence Cruz, said the waters were waist-high in areas that have never been flooded before and residents escaped by climbing on to roofs. Local radio broadcaster, Enie Alsonado, was swept away while trying to save his neighbors was one of the missing, said Cruz.
Save the Children’s country director in the Philippines, Anna Lindenfors, said many of the victims would be children. “We are hearing reports that the majority of those who have died in the floods are children, who are always most vulnerable in these situations. Children who have survived this disaster will be hungry, frightened and exhausted.
“We are especially worried about children who may have been separated from their parents during the flooding, as rains continue to fall and there is a very real risk of landslides causing further damage. Save the Children teams are on the ground in the area, and will launch an emergency response as soon as possible.”
Around 20,000 residents of Cagayan de Oro city had been affected and that evacuees were packed in temporary shelters. About 100,000 people have been displaced by the floods, said local politician Rufus Rodriguez
Local politician Rufus Rodriguez said around 20,000 citizens of Cagayan de Oro city had been affected and that evacuees were loaded in non permanent area.
The flood has left about 100,000 people homeless.