Tanuman Bridge Clogged by Soil, Flooding Threatens Jose Abad Santos

Soil has clogged the Tanuman bridge in Barangay Tanuman Big, Jose Abad Santos town in Davao Occidental to the ground level since Wednesday, the town mayor said. Mayor Jason John Joyce told MindaNews that unless the soil is removed from around the bridge, the water will continue to flow over the shoulder. "I was still able to pass through Tanuman yesterday before it flooded again. But the soil has really reached the bridge," he said on Thursday. He said that the heavy flow from the Tanuman River continues to threaten motorists, showing MindaNews a video taken on Wednesday. "The water is passing through the shoulder of the bridge," Joyce said. "Good thing I was still able to pass." On July 10, heavy rain and strong flash floods swept away four homes and killed at least four individuals, left five missing, and one injured. Data from both the provincial and municipality levels vary. The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) had officially listed a body part from a female individual as a sixth casualty. But recent official counts only count four dead, one injured, and six missing, with one missing individual added after a flash flood swept another individual on July 15. The last house, which belonged to one of the families living along the shoulder of the river, has also been swept away, the video showed. Meanwhile, Steffi Louise Pañares, a staff of the MDRRMO, told MindaNews over Messenger that the municipality has submitted to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-XI the proposed relocation sites in Barangays Nuing and Butulan for assessment. She said that the municipality was just awaiting the MGB hazard assessment certification. Earlier this week, the municipal council approved a ₱12.4-million adjustment to its disaster funds, with ₱8.7 million allotted for the relocation of evacuees. The municipality has been shaken by almost daily earthquakes since June 8 and intermittent rain showers since July 10. In an advisory dated July 23, the earthquake has left JAS with 40 injured, 12 missing, and eight dead. The quake affected 22,576 families, with 3,488 households in evacuation centers. It also damaged 6,700 houses, 39 schools, 405 classrooms, 16 barangay halls, eight barangay gyms, 13 health facilities, and 75 churches, according to the MDRRMO. The floods, meanwhile, affected 2,489 families. It left 489 houses totally damaged and 147 partially damaged. There are 869 families currently in evacuation centers.