1 missing as Agusan Sur floods displace 16K people

AGUSAN DEL SUR, Philippines - One person was declared missing Wednesday while more than16,000 people were evacuated when flash floods hit six towns in the province due to continuous heavy rains since Jan. 9. The missing person was Zacarias Gales, 33, resident of Pisaan village in San Francisco town. Reports said Gales was last seen Tuesday, while crossing the National Irrigation Administration’s dam in Alegria village, some 8 kilometers from San Francisco town. The head of the search and rescue operations in Agusan del Sur, Robert Natividad, said their team is still searching for the victim. According to the Agusan del Sur Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, around 16,267 people from 2,546 families had sought for higher grounds when Agusan River overflowed, flooding the towns of San Francisco, Prosperidad, La Paz, Veruela, Bunawan and Esperanza. Pauline Jaranillo, Esperanza's municipal administrator, said that as of Tuesday morning, at least 27 low-lying villages were already flooded, and that five of which were completely inundated as these were located along the riverbank. Floodwater in Santa Josefa displaced some 400 people, who are temporarily housed in Tapaz Elementary School. The report said floods displaced some 906 families. Ferdinand Perez, chief of the Provincial Information Office, said the provincial government had already distributed food and medicines in flooded towns. - Alden Pantaleon, GMANews.TV