By LIZA JOCSON
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Four persons were killed over the weekend in landslides triggered by heavy rains in Barangay Pamucutan here.
The victims were identified as Leonilo Moret and son Justin and Nica Ortega and son JM. Their bodies were found during search and retrieval operations.
The victims lie in a small chapel in Barangay Pamucutan.
A nine-year-old boy, Sonnyboy Laling Jamal, drowned at the height of heavy rains last Saturday.
More than 4,000 residents from several barangays here have evacuated to safer grounds due to flooding.
City Social Welfare and Development Officer Socorro Rojas said that 4,462 families or more than 15,000 persons sought shelter in evacuation centers at the height of heavy rains last Saturday.
A total of 32 barangays were affected and 17 out of the initial 39 evacuation centers are being utilized as of posting time.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office activated its Emergency Operations Center at the height of heavy rains last Friday.
Rescue teams composed of personnel from the CDRRMO, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, police, and military units responded to flooded areas in affected barangays.
Mayor John Dalipe here sympathized with the families of the fatalities and handed over financial and food assistance to them.