Weather: ITCZ caused Davao floods, PAGASA says

Severe rainfall brought by an intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) to mountainous areas surrounding Davao City caused heavy flooding in the area, the state weather bureau said Wednesday. Jori Loiz, weather forecaster from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said heavy rain in these mountain areas may have resulted in the flashfloods in Davao City, since only “light to moderate" rainfall was recorded in the area on Tuesday night. “We can assume na hindi po mismo sa Davao City nagkaroon ng malakas na pag-ulan kundi sa mga environs nito. At kung ang mga pag-ulang ito ay sa mga kabundukan sa Davao, maaari pong ang lakas ng ulan ay bumaba na hong dire-diretso," he said in an interview aired over GMA News Online’s “On Call" on Wednesday. He added that the rain was not brought by a typhoon, but by an ITCZ, or an area of accumulated moisture near the equator that causes a series of thunderstorms.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, meanwhile, said that local officials were “taken by surprise" by the amount of rainfall that fell on the city last night. “Kagabi sa sobrang lakas ng ulan at sa sobrang tagal ng malakas na ulan, nag-overflow ang tubig sa mga areas na apektado," she said in a separate interview. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, in its update at 1 p.m. Wednesday, said that Davao City experienced “the highest levels of floodwaters to date" reaching up to 10-feet high. The city mayor said the floodwaters in affected areas “quickly subsided" by Wednesday afternoon, although local disaster management officials are still assessing the amount of damage caused by the flashflood. A total of 11 people had been confirmed dead while 13 others remain missing due to the flooding in Davao City, according to the NDRRMC. - Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News