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Saturday, February 3, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 111
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WATERWORLD IN THE SOUTH
State of calamity declared in Agusan del Sur after flooding displaces thousands and damages huge farmlands, wiping out an entire planting season’s work.
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By Erwin M. Mascariñas
AN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur— The heavy rains brought about by the trough of a Low-Pressure Area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) have displaced thousands of individuals in Agusan del Sur prompting the province to declare a state of calamity.
On January 31, 2024, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in the Province of Agusan del Sur approved the declaration after several towns were overwhelmed by flooding. “It was Governor Santiago
Cane Jr.’s recommendation to place the entire province under a state of calamity due to widespread flooding caused by continuous heavy rains attributed to the effects of the Shear line, Northeast Monsoon, and the current trough of
A FARMER balances a sack of feeds on his head while crossing the raging current along a barangay road in La Caridad, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, on February 1, 2023. ERWIN M. MASCARIÑAS
A RESIDENT navigates his makeshift bamboo raft across the floodwaters to deliver food and supplies to trapped residents in Bunawan town, Agusan del Sur, on February 1, 2023. ERWIN M. MASCARIÑAS
the Low-Pressure Area,” said Vice Governor Samuel Tortor during the provincial special session. According to the report of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) of Agusan del Sur, 1,368 families have been affected by the flooding in Rosario across the seven barangays, while 74 families in Trento are affected from two barangays. Agusan del Sur Board Member Edwin Elorde pointed out that 923 families or 2,000 individuals in Bunawan town are currently taking shelter in three evacuation centers in the municipality. Department of Social Welfare and Development-Caraga said they distributed an initial 7,832 food packs to the affected families in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, on Wednesday. Liza Mazo, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga chief, pointed out that the situation was aggravated by the heavy rains that soaked
the entire province, brought by the shear line, that earlier hit parts of Davao and Agusan provinces on January 16 and lasted until January 21. “Several villages in Agusan del Sur, like in the towns of Veruela, Loreto and San Agustin, were already flooded around the third week of January; the rain almost didn’t stop and the waters coming from the flooded municipalities in Davao de Oro further added to the already growing waters of the area’s river basin,” said Mazo. Mazo, who inspected the affected areas on February 1, was clearly aghast at how massive the flooding has become. “We’ve seen the massive devastation and how vast the flooding in several of the barangays and towns that we’ve visited, which is just a smaller area compared to how large the reports that are still coming in from the other barangays and their Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.1850 n JAPAN 0.3837 n UK 71.6078 n HK 7.1852 n CHINA 7.8253 n SINGAPORE 42.0452 n AUSTRALIA 36.9079 n EU 61.0900 n KOREA 0.0423 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.9827 Source: BSP (February 2, 2024)
ERWIN M. MASCARIÑAS
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