AN eight-year-old girl has died after the motorcycle she was riding on was washed away by floodwaters in Baroy, Lanao del Norte yesterday.
Flash floods brought by heavy torrential rain affected the towns of Baroy, Lala, and Tubod, on Monday night, the provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office said.
Senior Fire Officer 4 Roger Bontia, chief of the Baroy Fire Station said Lorraine Grace Rafols, eight, was traveling with her uncle and aunt on a motorcycle Monday night when flashfloods caught them as they tried to cross a stream.
Bontia said the uncle and auntie survived but the strong current carried Rafols away.
He said Rafols’ body was recovered early Monday morning.
“We took some time to reach the small stream. There were so many calls for assistance last night,” Rafols said.
Lou Ellen Antonio of the Philippine Information Agency said the provincial disaster office reported responders rescued some 275 families or 1,058 individuals in overnight operations against the rampaging flash floods.
Antonio said 91 families or 367 individuals have sought shelter in the town of Baroy; another 93 families 0r 318 individuals were evacuated from the town of Lala and another 91 families or 373 individuals have taken shelter in Tubod.
She said the provincial government of Lanao del Norte is still assessing the damage to infrastructure and houses.
The flashfloods last night came after a devastating Christmas flooding that hit Oroquita city and other towns in neighboring Misamis Occidental province that left at least 21 fatalities.
