HEAVY rains in the mountains of Cebu yesterday caused the Butuanon River to rise as strong currents swept away a 73-year-old man at sitio Salvacion, Maguikay, Mandaue City.
Faustino Tulod was about to cross the river on a bamboo raft to feed his pigs when he slipped while trying to recover a pail of feeds that fell into the water.
It was not the first time Tulod had fallen into the river, but in previous instances, he was immediately rescued, said Leah Veraces of barangay Maguikay.
The incident was reported at 3:15 p.m. Tulod remains missing.
Veraces said a 7-year-old boy was also swept away by the strong current of the river early this year. The boy ran after his ball but he fell into the river. His body was found in the pier area.
The Butuanon River stretches from barangays Cabancalan, Casuntingan, Maguikay to Paknaan.
In Medellin town in north Cebu, almost 100 people were stranded near the bridge in sitio Martinez, barangay Caputatan Norte after hours of heavy rains.
Barangay officials warned residents not to cross the flooded bridge.
Ropes were used to help people cross the bridge when the water subsided.
The creek in sitio Bangon in the same barangay almost overflowed.
No other untoward reports of flooding or landslides reached the Capitol, said Wilson Ramos, head for operations of the Cebu provincial disaster office.
“So far, so good” he told Cebu Daily News.
Last Tuesday’s rains were scattered with parts of the province not experiencing rainfall at all.
Ramos said that the LGUs should be the first responders in emergencies.