By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — Twenty families from Barangay Bitan-agan in Butuan City remain sheltered at their old barangay hall—now serving as an evacuation center—after six houses were swept away by rampaging floodwaters at the height of Tropical Depression Verbena.
This, even as floodwaters subsided by Tuesday morning.
At the onset of Verbena’s torrential rains on Monday, disaster response teams across Caraga scrambled to rescue residents trapped in low-lying and riverside communities.
In Tubay, Agusan del Norte, workers from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), along with Philippine Coast Guard personnel and Poblacion 2 officials, evacuated families caught in sudden flash floods in P-4 Beto, Poblacion 2.
As of 6:30 a.m. on Monday, light vehicles could no longer pass through the national highway in Barangay Tagmamarkay as floodwaters rose and currents remained strong, allowing only heavy vehicles to safely traverse the area.
In Carrascal, Surigao del Sur, the MDRRMO mobilized pre-emptive evacuations with support from the police, fire bureau, social welfare office, Coast Guard, barangay responders, and mine-based emergency teams—including CNC and MMDC—to ensure orderly movement of residents to safer grounds.
Jomar Udtojan, head of the Disaster Emergency Response Section of the City Social Welfare and Development Department, said food packs continue to be distributed to displaced Bitan-agan residents while awaiting assistance to rebuild their damaged homes.
The Butuan City Housing and Homesite Development Department is assessing the extent of damage, said Leo Valdehueza of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department.
He noted this was the first time houses in the area—situated near a flood-control spillway—were washed away by a sudden surge of waters.
“They did not expect this. Even during stronger rains brought by Typhoons Tino and Uwan, they did not experience anything like it,” Udtojan said in a phone interview.
Verbena affected 13 barangays in Butuan City, with 392 families or 1,303 individuals taking temporary shelter in 17 evacuation centers, authorities said.
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