Storm surge inundates 16 Misamis Or towns

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A storm surge featuring ten-foot-high waves slammed into 16 towns in the province of Misamis Oriental Tuesday night, inundating 53 barangays and forcing 1,160 families to flee their homes, the regional disaster coordinating council reported. The affected towns are Balingasag, Lagonglong, Villanueva, Tagoloan, Balingoan, Sugbongcogon, Lugait, Initao, Salay, Jasaan, Libertad, Manticao, Kinoguitan, Naawan, Binuangan, and Magsaysay. No casualty had been reported as of this posting. "A storm surge had affected majority of the coastal areas in the province. Rescue operations were conducted round the clock last night. No one had been reported hurt or missing. As of the moment, we are distributing relief goods to the victims," said Carmelito Lupo, director of the office of civil defense and member of the RDCC. The Region 10 office of Pagasa here said the storm surge was caused by strong winds from the southwest brought about by tropical storm Lando. The weather bureau said the wave flow registered at 4 meters per second and the tide height registered at 3.1 meters. The waves struck the coastal barangays at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, leaving 800 homes damaged and destroying a 12-meter seawall in Naawan town. Governor Oscar Moreno declared the 16 towns on alert level after Pagasa warned that big waves are still expected due to high tide and the entry of tropical storm 'Nonoy.' Pagasa said they issued a warning as early as Sunday to the coastal villages of the province for a possible storm surge but residents still refused to evacuate. The Macalajar bay in Misamis Oriental had been declared one of the storm surge-prone areas in Mindanao. "The winds coming from the Southwest brought about by tropical Lando which came at the time of high tide were the main cause of the storm surge. We were able to issue a warning to local disaster councils but they said that the residents were not willing to leave their homes," said Ricardo Mercado, officer in charge of PAGASA 10. According to Lupo, the displaced families are now housed in school building and barangay halls. Last year, a storm surge also struck in the same towns, which displaced hundreds of residents and destroyed millions of pesos of infrastructure. The affected areas were then declared danger zones but residents who rely on fishing for their livelihood apparently refused to leave. Gov. Moreno said they are now drafting a long-term solution so that there will not be a repeat of the incident. Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources here said that the continuous destruction of mangroves along coastal areas have made many coastal villages in Mindanao prone to high waves during tropical storms. "We urge the people living in coastal areas to protect the mangrove trees as this is first line of defense against storm surges," said Mercy Barbarona, assistant director of the mines and geosciences bureau of DENR 10. She said that many villages that were severely affected by the high waves had very thin mangrove forests. - GMANews.TV