2017 Visayas and Mindanao floods
DateJanuary 16 – February 10, 2017[1]
LocationEastern Visayas and Northern Mindanao, Philippines
Deaths9
Property damage1,300 houses

The 2017 Visayas and Mindanao floods was an event that caused extreme flooding within parts of the Philippines, caused by several low-pressure systems. In mid-January 2017, several parts of Visayas and Mindanao experienced flooding as a result of a low-pressure area, combined with the tail-end of a cold front.[2]

Causes

The cause of the floods was during the impact of three depressions monitored by PAGASA (Auring, Bising and Crising).

Impact

The city of Cagayan de Oro was seriously affected by the floods, as the heavy rain started in the early afternoon and continued late into the evening on Monday, January 16, inundating several streets and stranding many commuters.[2][3] Hundreds of students were trapped at the University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (USTP) due to the floodwaters without any food or water. With most of the campus flooded, students were forced to head to the upper floors of the school's buildings.[4]

Shopping malls along Claro M. Recto Avenue were hit by the floodwaters as well; Limketkai Center was rendered completely impassable.[5] One mall's basement parking area was filled with water, while another mall near Bitan-ag Creek was also flooded, despite the area already being elevated.[6]

As a result of the heavy rain in Cagayan de Oro, parts of Camaman-an, Patag, Carmen, and a number of urban barangays were swamped by the deluge.[2] Two landslides were reported in the city; one on Masterson Avenue near Pryce Plaza Hotel, and in Paglaum Village, Camaman-an.[6] The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD) said that a rain gauge near the Cagayan River recorded a total of 166.2 mm,[2] about 20 mm less than the amount of rainfall recorded in December 2011 when Tropical Storm Sendong (Washi) impacted the city.[7] However, the two-day rainfall amount was higher than that from both Tropical Depression Agaton (Lingling) and Tropical Storm Seniang (Jangmi).[8]

Numerous business establishments and schools opened their doors to people unable to return home because of the floods. This included Centrio Mall, SM City Cagayan de Oro and Limketkai Mall which remained open after hours, and Xavier University, which made its canteen, a number of classrooms and covered courts as a temporary refuge.[9]

Floods also affected the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon.[10] Landslides were also reported in several parts of Visayas and Mindanao.[11] [12]

Classes were suspended in Tacloban, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Misamis Oriental,[13] as well as parts of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar provinces.[14]

Aftermath

The local government of Cagayan de Oro declared a state of calamity over the city in the early morning of Tuesday, January 17, 2017.[15] On Thursday, January 19, as a result of the continuous rainfall, the Cagayan de Oro City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) declared a code yellow, asking residents to be vigilant.[10] At least seven people died in the city due to the floods.[16][17]

A few days after the floods, it was reported that supplies of doxycycline, used to treat people against leptospirosis, had run out in Cagayan de Oro. A similar situation occurred in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Sendong when 24 people died because of an outbreak of leptospirosis.[18]

According to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Mark Villar, the agency will ask the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for an additional P300 million for the accelerated completion of various projects that are meant to reduce future flooding in Cagayan de Oro. Meanwhile, the DPWH was called into question by Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III for a lack of coordination with the City Government of Cagayan de Oro when implementing projects.[19] The agency also admitted that the recently completed bridge over Bitan-ag Creek failed to prevent neck-level floodwaters from inundating Limketkai Center and USTP. Due to garbage clogging the creek, mud and water spilled onto Claro M. Recto Avenue.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Philippines – 178,000 Remain Displaced by Floods in Mindanao". FloodList.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lagsa, Bobby. "Thousands stranded as flash floods hit Cagayan de Oro". Rappler. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ Flores, Helen. "A month's worth of rain hit CDO – Pagasa". Philstar. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  4. ↑ "4 dead, 1 missing, thousands displaced in Oro flood". SunStar Cagayan de Oro. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ Sariling, Alwen. "Heavy rain causes flash floods in CDO, Misamis Oriental". CNN Philippines. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Jerusalem, Jigger; Saliring, Alwen; Viguella, Abigail. "Heavy rains cause worst flooding in Oro since Sendong". SunStar Cagayan de Oro. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Ellorin, Bencyrus. "Sendong may not yet be CDO's Ormoc-like disaster, says expert". MindaNews. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  8. ↑ Jerusalem, Jigger. "Water rose quickly, antiflood structure failed". Inquirer.net. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ Yuson, Zak. "#ReliefPH: Good samaritans open doors, brave floods to help stranded Cagayan de Oro residents". Rappler. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Lagsa, Bobby. "Floods hit Lanao del Sur, Bukidnon; Cagayan de Oro still on alert". Rappler. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  11. ↑ Mangosing, Francis (17 January 2017). "Thousands stranded as floods swamp VisMin cities". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  12. ↑ "Heavy rains cause flooding, landslide in Visayas, Mindanao". Sun Star Philippines. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "Floods hit Northern Mindanao, Western Visayas; 5 killed". Business Mirror. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Heavy rains trigger landslide, flooding in Eastern Visayas". Sun Star Tacloban. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  15. ↑ Javier, Kristian (17 January 2017). "Cagayan de Oro declares state of calamity". Philippine Star. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  16. ↑ Lagsa, Bobby. "7 dead in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental floods". Rappler. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Death toll in Cagayan de Oro flood rises to 4". Sun Star Cagayan de Oro. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  18. ↑ Lagsa, Bobby. "Flood-hit Cagayan de Oro sees shortage of leptospirosis medicine". Rappler. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  19. ↑ Orias, Pamela. "DPWH secretary to ask P300 million to solve flood woes". SunStar Cagayan de Oro. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  20. ↑ Lagsa, Bobby. "Too much rain, garbage, clogged waterways caused Cagayan de Oro flood". Rappler. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
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