EXPECT the unexpected, hopefully not the worse one could think of beyond imagination.
When floodwaters quickly rose up to chest-deep at around 4 pm Thursday, residents of barangay Bonbon, Cagayan de Oro frantically gathered their personal belongings as they rush to nearby Bonbon Elementary School which is a newly-built three-story building.
“Grabe nga tubig maka-surprise, mas dako pa sa Sendong time ang pagsugod. Kinahanglan mag-inabtikon ta ini kanunay,” exclaimed Marvin Pagalan, who worried as his mother and other relatives in Punta, Bonbon have yet to move to higher ground.
Punta, Bonbon is comprising Zone 1 and Zone 2 within the riverbanks and the Macajalar bay across the also flood-prone Barangay Macabalan.
“Sa una taman bagtak lang ang pagtaas sa ilang Mama nga area, apan mas paspas karon silang i-rescue karon,” added Pagalan, who is both a musician and an experienced fisherman.
Already, the unfinished bridge that would link Bonbon and Macabalan had been partially toppled by the surging waters from Carmen river that serves as the basin of upstream water activity especially in the forested mountains of Bukidnon.
“Ang problema kay akong gi-google mag high tide karong gabii starting at 8 pm,” said Engr. Jules Paguia, whose family also took refuge at the school building along with hundred others.
“Lahi ni nga challenge compared adtong Sendong sa una, paspas kaayo ang pagsulod sa tubig sa among balay,” said Paguia of Zone 5.
Many more, panic-driven and unmindful of health protocols such as wearing face masks, were evacuated at Bonbon National High School which is just a stone's throw away from the seashore.
Kagawad Lelet Baal said the forced evacuation was also triggered when the barangay's defective and unfinished drainage had overflowed.
“Habog atong school building so, I think safe ra for evacuation. Lisod na pud ang pag travel kay daghan dalan dili na maagian tungod sa pagbaha. Ang panihapon na sab karon among atimanon,” said Baal, the most visible barangay official of Bonbon’s present situation.
