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Flash floods hit Davao City; 4 confirmed dead


(Updated 9 a.m.) At least four people were confirmed dead in the wake of flash floods that hit Davao City following a three-hour downpour since late Tuesday night. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte also said at least three children remain missing, even as the city mulls declaring a state of calamity on four affected villages. "Yung official count namin nasa punerarya is apat na dead bodies... Nalunod ang mga bata. meron kaming anim na missing bata, tatlo ang na-recover, and lahat sila nalunod, nadala ng tubig baha," she said in an interview on dzBB radio. On the other hand, she said at least 40 families have lost their homes to the floods. She also said the local Department of Public Works and Highways had recommended that a bridge near the highway be opened only to motorcycles. "Recommendation ng DPWH, hindi na padaanan ng sassakyan. Motor na lang pwede. Nag-divert kami ng traffic ngayon (The DPWH recommended that vehicles not be allowed to pass through the bridge, and that only motorcycles can cross it. We are diverting traffic along the bridge now)," she said. The mayor added she had called special session of the city council for Wednesday afternoon to assess the damage caused by the flood. She said the city council expects to decide by Wednesday afternoon whether to declare a state of calamity in the four affected villages. Earlier, Duterte said the affected villages include Matina Pangi, Matina Crossing, Matina Aplaya, and Talomo village. As of 9 a.m., Duterte said the weather had cleared, and is very sunny. She added the floods had mostly subsided. "Nag-call off kami ng search-and-rescue sa apektado ng baha dahil bumaba ang tubig at ang iba bumalik sa bahay except those nawalan ng bahay dahil sa tubig baha. Ang nawalan ng bahay estimated 40 families as of this hour," she said. Raul Tolibas of radio dzBB's Davao affiliate, a resident of the city, said the floods hit the National Housing Authority (NHA) Subdivision, Bangkal, and Flores Villages. "Ang tubig 8 feet ang lalim (Floods reached eight feet in some areas)," he said. "Rescuers did not allow us to get near the flooded areas. The floods also left vehicles to be stranded along the highway there," he added. Cause of floods The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said an inter-tropical convergence zone was behind the floods that hit Davao. "Dala ito ng [intertropical convergence zone] ITCZ na nakakaapekto sa Mindanao," PAGASA forecaster Rene Pamil said on dzBB radio. PAGASA's 5 a.m. bulletin had also warned of flash floods and landslides in parts of Mindanao. "Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms becoming cloudy with widespread rain over Northern and Eastern Mindanao which may aggravate flashfloods and landslides," it said. The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening. — LBG, GMA News
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