The Butuanon river in Mandaue City overflowed around 8 p.m. on Monday, (CDN FILE PHOTO)
The body of the child who was drowned by the strong current of the Butuanon River was found floating in hip-deep waters in the shores of Barangay Umapad.
Helen Ranile and her children and relatives had been looking for eight-year-old Charlie Ranile, when she learned that her son had been swallowed and carried by the river current.
“Darwin Ranile, 20, brother of the child, narrated to CDN how they searched for him.
“Bisan og kusog pa ang sulog, nagpaanod mi, mga lima mi kabuok, kauban sa akong mga uyo-an ug nagtan-aw tan-aw mi sa kilid sa sapa hangtud nga naabot mi didto sa dagat,” Darwin said. (Even if the current was still strong, I and my uncles swam and went with the current, searching the riverbanks until we reached the sea.)
He said when they found Charlie, they immediately brought him to the nearby Velez Hospital in Barangay Paknaan, but the child was declared dead on arrival by a physician.
Charlie was a grade two pupil at the Umapad Elementary School.
Provincial Data
Around 400 families are still in evacuation centers two days after Tropical Depression Auring hit Cebu.
Consolidated data from the Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) showed a total of 380 families or 1,518 individuals from
Danao City, Sogod and Carmen are still in evacuation centers as of 9 a.m., Wednesday.
But in Liloan and Consolacion, the evacuees affected by flash floods have returned to their homes, now that floodwaters has subsided.
In Barangay Yati, Liloan, 36 families were asked to evacuate to the Yati Elementary School after floodwaters from the mountain barangays flowed to the lowlands, causing chest-deep floods.
In Consolacion, families living near the Cansaga Bay were evacuated to the covered courts of the Consolacion National High School but have now started to go back to their homes to clean up the mess left by the floods. Only six families remain at the covered courts.
Julius Regner, PDRRMO information officer, said that a landslide occurred in La Montana Homes in Consolacion that affected an abandoned house while the town of Sogod suspended classes in all levels on Thursday
Relief goods
Regner also said they have already forwarded to the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) the list of affected residents in Toledo City, which total to 2,595, and that they are just waiting for feedback as to when the packs would be distributed.
According to Myra Tancinco, social welfare officer of PSWDO, the local government units have already initially sent their own relief packs.
Tancinco said relief packs to be distributed will include noodles, canned goods and coffee good for three days for a family of five.
Cebu City
In Cebu City, the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO) said the Barangay Quick Response Teams have been sending reports on problems related to flooding and landslides especially in the mountain barangays.
Heavy equipment have been assigned to responder groups for use in emergencies.
Nagiel Bañacia, CCDRRMO chief, said there were reports of minor landslides in Sitio Tak-an in Budlaan, Sitio Tanay in Pulangbato and the boundary between Agsungot and Binaliw.
Clearing of roads of debris and rocks is now ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecasts light to moderate winds today and tomorrow.
“There is a developing low pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR),” said weather specialist Jhomer Eclarino in a phone interview.
This possible LPA might enter PAR on Friday but will not directly affect Cebu.
“What directly affects Cebu as of the moment is the presence of northeast monsoon,” he said. With reports fromDominic D. Yasay, Michelle Joy L. Padayhag and Inna Gian Mejia