GENERAL SANTOS City– At least 17 houses were damaged in Tupi town in South Cotabato after strong winds battered three villages in the area on Thursday afternoon.
Emil Sumagaysay, Tupi Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) head, said Friday the incident occurred at the height of heavy rains that started at around 1 p.m.
Citing their initial assessment, he said eight houses in Sitio Atbol of Barangay Acmonan, seven in Barangay Tubeng and two in Barangay Poblacion sustained partial damages as a result of the weather phenomenon.
“Two of the houses were damaged by fallen trees while the roof of the 15 other houses were blown away by the strong winds,” he said in a radio interview.
Sumagaysay said two families, one in Tubeng and one in Poblacion, have evacuated but stayed with their relatives.
The official said there were also reported damages to various crops in Barangay Acmonan due to the incident.
He said Tupi Mayor Reynaldo Tamayao has dispatched personnel from the Municipal Agriculture Office to assess and validate the crop damages.
The local government has already delivered relief goods and other related items to the affected families, he said.
Sumagaysay said they will submit a report on the incident to the Office Civil Defense, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other government agencies to facilitate the release of additional assistance.
He said they will specifically request for emergency shelter assistance from the DSWD for the affected residents.
Last week, three elderly residents of Barangay Bunao were killed following a landslide in one of the mountains in the area.
Four other barangays were ravaged by flashfloods that came after hours of almost nonstop heavy rains.
Sumagaysay said the rehabilitation are ongoing in areas that were affected by the floods and landslides.
He said they have relocated nine families from landslide-prone community in Barangay Bunao to a resettlement site that is being developed by the local government and the National Housing Authority. pna
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