As flood toll rises, Caraga PNP sets up regional disaster center

Camp Rafael Rodriguez, BUTUAN CITY—As families from low-lying villages across the Caraga region continue to flee their homes, now submerged by floods brought by non-stop rains, Caraga Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Reynaldo S. Rafal on Monday created the Caraga Regional Disaster Operation Center (RDOC). Rafal, a member of the Caraga’s Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said the establishment of a single action center would speed up and improve the response to disasters. Families began to flee their homes at dawn Monday, after two days of continuous rains caused floods in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur and Surigao City, Surigao del Norte in the Caraga region in Mindanao. At least 2,009 people from various villages in Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, and the Dinagat islands have since fled, and the numbers are still rising. So far, 52 barangays in nine Surigao Norte towns remain submerged in floodwaters. The Agusan river, whose 177-kilometer path cuts a south-to-north path through Agusan Sur and flows out into Butuan Bay, has swollen and its waters have inundated the low-lying towns surrounding it. Rafal said that RDOC’s job was to closely monitor areas prone to floods and landslides, in order to save lives and property. It is also tasked to respond to calls for assistance and evacuation. “The group’s tasks are specific, that’s why it can focus on distress calls in times of disaster and calamities ASAP," Rafal said. Rafal also directed city and provincial police directors, and police chiefs of towns and cities in the Caraga region to be in full alert. He also directed the battalion commander of the police Regional Public Safety Battalion to establish regional rescue teams at the regional levels to respond to the continuous downpour. The police director also advised affected residents to coordinate with police station nearest to them, even as he encouraged non-government organizations, volunteer groups and the media to help respond to his region, which may be placed under a state of calamity. Rafal is new in his post, having been sworn in barely two months ago. — Ben Serrano/DM/KBK, GMANews.TV