'Basyang' leaves 5 dead, thousands displaced in Northern Mindanao
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Tropical storm ‘’Basyang’’ left at least five people dead and forced thousands from their homes in Northern Mindanao on Friday, disaster officials said.
In Cagayan de Oro City, four family members – a couple, a 13-year-old, and an 11-month-old – died in a landslide in Barangay Agusan.
Multiple barangays in the city were flooded.
In Iligan City, radio broadcaster Creselyn Baterna Velasco died of cardiac arrest after her apartment was flooded.
The Tubod River overflowed Thursday night, displacing 4,697 individuals from 21 barangays.
“We are on top of the situation. In the case of Barangay Mahayahay, the residents have been given advice to evacuate days ahead. But sad to say, some of them refused to leave their homes,” Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao said.
Provincial data showed 32,750 people were displaced in Misamis Oriental and 2,129 in Camiguin province.
Sea and air travel remain suspended despite weakening rainfall.
The Iligan City government declared a state of calamity due to the effects of Basyang.
There is a need to declare the city under a state of calamity to release the much-needed calamity fund for the provision of relief services and assistance to victims who are in evacuation centers and help rebuild damaged infrastructure, the city government said in a resolution unanimously approved by the city council and effective immediately.