As of 3 p.m., a total of 17,766 individuals from eight barangays were affected by heavy flooding due to heavy rains brought by a localized thunderstorm that caused major rivers to overflow and submerge low-lying areas here.
Among the barangays affected were, Kinamayan, San Miguel, Casig-ang, New Katipunan, Talomo, Lunga-og, Kinamon and Bobongon.
In a statement, Mayor Ernesto Evangelista and Municipal Administrator lawyer Elisa Evangelista-Lapiña said the local government dispatched the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), Responder Ni Tomas, Municipal Engineer’s Office (MEO), and the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) to lead the disaster response efforts in the flood-stricken communities.
As of 8 a.m., the covered court of Barangay New Katipunan was converted into an evacuation center where displaced families were housed temporarily, according to MSWDO officer-in-charge Leilani Mae Rafol.
Governor Edwin Jubahib and other local officials have already coordinated the deployment of heavy equipment to oversee the declogging operations through the guidance of Municipal Engineer Rey Sagot.
The incumbent provincial officials will also be deploying its humanitarian arm to extend emergency aid to affected families in Santo Tomas in cooperation with the PSWDO, and other humanitarian agencies.
Meanwhile, Evangelista-Lapiña is going around various barangays with the MDRRMO and MEO personnel to check the extent of damage to infrastructure and livelihood.
Apart from river waters that swelled, piles of garbage, mostly plastics, empty bottled water, and stem of banana trees have clogged irrigation canals in flood-hit barangays.
The aerial shot of the flooding in Barangay San Miguel, Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte. Photo by Santo Tomas MIO