Zamboanga Sibugay also reels from Inday, ‘habagat’ floods

PAGADIAN CITY, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR, Philippines — Typhoon Inday (international name: Bavi) and the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) left widespread destruction across four municipalities in Zamboanga Sibugay, where flash floods claimed one man’s life, bringing the death toll in Mindanao to 24 as of Tuesday after another body was recovered in Davao Occidental.

Rodel Tubigon, chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the municipalities of Diplahan, Imelda, Payao, and Siay—all traversed by the Sibugay River—bore the brunt of the flash floods triggered by heavy rains.

Thousands of residents were displaced after floodwaters swept through communities beginning July 11, submerging homes and farmlands, he said.

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READ: Over 200 residents evacuate as floods hit Zamboanga del Sur town

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Police confirmed that a resident of Barangay Lindang in Diplahan was swept away by strong currents around 10 a.m. on July 11. His body was recovered later that evening.

In Davao Occidental, Mayor Jason John Joyce of Jose Abad Santos town said another body was found floating off the coast of Barangay Malalan.

The latest recovery brought to four the number of fatalities in Jose Abad Santos after heavy rains and flash floods struck Barangay Tanuman on July 10.

READ: DPWH clears landslides in Zamboanga del Norte town

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The heavy rains were brought by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Inday, which exited the Philippine area of responsibility at 8 p.m. on July 10.

Joyce said five residents remain missing as search and retrieval operations continue.

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Authorities had earlier recovered 10 bodies buried by landslides in Malapatan, Sarangani; seven in Calanogas, Lanao del Sur; and two in Bukidnon.

Initial reports showed that 1,823 hectares of newly planted rice fields were destroyed by the flood in Zamboanga Sibugay. Flash floods also inundated parts of the Bangsamoro region. /cb

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