NEWSFLASH

23 NORTH MINDANAO TOWNS FLOODED, 9 DEAD

Butuan City, Feb. 1, 2000 -Around six thousand families were left homeless while 10 persons are confirmed dead in floods that swept through 23 towns in Northern Mindanao over the weekend.

Affected by the floods are towns in Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, Misamis Oriental and Surigao del Norte, where millions of pesos worth of roads, bridges, public buildings, crops and private property were destroyed, disaster reports said

Food supplies were running out in several areas, as the Maharlika national highway connecting Agusan and Davao rendered unpassable , while the road in Trento and Mangagoy, Surigao del Sur, road was cut-off by floods, destroyed bridges and landslides. Also destroyed was the concrete bridge in Mainit and Anaoawon, Surigao del Norte.

Col. Santiago S. Prejido, 401st Brigade commander, said that he was directed by Brig. Gen. Roy A. Cimatu, Northern Mindanao Fourth Infantry (Diamond) Division chief, to mobilize 5 army battalions and other support units to assist in the rescue operations.

"The number of casualties and affected families is expected to rise as reports from various disaster coordinating councils come in," he said.

At least 280 families were trapped in the municipality of Sta. Josefa, Agusan del Sur. They could not be reached by rescuers because landslide have cut off the only road access.