Residents evacuate from Uwan’s wrath

TheMonitorMindanaoToday.com | Residents evacuate from Uwan’s wrath 

By: Uriel Quilinguing

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – About 800 residents from five villages sought temporary shelter in public buildings on Saturday, November 8, as floodwaters rise due to torrential rains spawned by trough of Typhoon Uwan (Fung-wong).

On Friday, November 7, about 10 p.m. the eye of the storm crossed the demarcation line for the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). This is the 21^st tropical storm for 2025.

Typhoon Uwan’s 1,400-kilometer diameter, with a circular movement of rainclouds, already felt in Northern Mindanao including this capital city starting Friday night.

About 4 p.m. of Saturday, the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) profiled 377 individuals belonging to 83 families, as posted online by the City Information Office. These figures went up to 145 families of over 750 individuals by 6 p.m.

For instance, the CSWDO initially listed only nine families at Pagatpat Elementary School, but the number went up to 65 by nighttime as residents of Zone 1, Zone 2A and Zone 2B no longer feel safe.

For the first time, they went through waist-deep floodwaters and this could not have happened if the flood-control project in the area was property constructed.

Fifty-six families from the coastal village of Bayabas, with identified as flood-prone areas particularly at Zone 6, are also housed in a public school.

Seventeen families from two other villages, Bulua and Bonbon, where portions of their land area are along the Macajalar Bay and banks of Iponan and Cagayan de Oro rivers, had to be evacuated too. There were 62 individual evacuees from Bulua and 26 from Bonbon.

At San Simon Integrated School, there were eight families with 25 family members – all residents of Barangay San Simon—who need assistance.

Bulua Barangay Chairperson Al Legaspi Jr. said he has directed members of rescue team to convince those living near the Iponan river bank, residents of Zone 8, to evacuate because of the risks, aggravated by high tide at nighttime.

Legaspi said they have procured 20 sets of modular tent ready to be used during pre-emptive evacuations while they utilize a portion of their calamity fund to provide the basic needs of the evacuees. “We also receive assistance from the CSWDO as well as from the First Community Cooperative (FICCO),” told a lady radio reporter. (Uriel Quilinguing)

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