Number of flood-affected persons up as water level rises in Lake Mainit

By Nora L. Molde

Thursday 16th of February 2012

BUTUAN CITY, Feb. 16 (PIA) -- Due to the continuous rise of water level in Lake Mainit in the municipality of Jabonga, Agusan del Norte, the number of persons affected now reached 9,390 as of 10:00 a.m. today, according to the report of the Caraga Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).

Southern Mindanao is currently affected by a low pressure area.

A total of 13 barangays with 9,390 persons are now affected, of which 9,100 came from Agusan del Norte and 290 from Surigao del Norte.

In Agusan del Norte, the RDRRMC reported that only 253 individuals or are housed in the evacuation centers; while in Surigao del Norte, 153 individuals have been evacuated.

Lake Mainit is situated between the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte.

The RDRRMC through council chair and Office of the Civil Defense Regional Director Dr. Blanche T. Gobenciong has constantly coordinating with the local DRRMCs for the status of their area of responsibility and alerted them for possible landslides and flashfloods.

Also, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is on standby for relief operation and ready for possible augmentation to the local government units affected with the flooding.

The RDRRMC Operations Center maintains its 24/7 monitoring and continues to disseminate warnings and advisories through text blasts or SMS to member agencies, local DRRMCs, and local media in the region.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Information Agency is also assisting the RDRRMC round-the-clock in the dissemination of information in the form of warnings and advisories to its significant number of recipients in the region. (PIA-Caraga)