MANILA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- One person died and another was reported missing, while more than 1,300 people have been displaced in southern Philippine Region of Northern Mindanao due to flash floods and landslides, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Tuesday.
Citing the reports from Field Office Northern Mindanao, DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said that local disaster risk reduction management offices have implemented preemptive evacuation, particularly to residents living along the rivers in Cagayan de Oro City.
In Misamis Oriental province, she said that the governor there has declared suspension of classes from pre-school to high school on Tuesday.
She said one died after being carried away by flooding.
The evacuees in the villages in Cagayan de Oro, and Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte provinces have been housed in different evacuation centers, Taguiwalo said.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said a state of calamity has been declared in Cagayan de Oro.
The DSWD is now providing assistance to families affected by flooding in Northern Mindanao, he said.
Response is manageable at the local government unit and agency level and does not require the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to step in, according to Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, NDRRMC Executive Director and Civil Defense Administrator.
"Government is doing everything to ensure that things go back to normal especially now that the weather is improving and roads are again passable," Abella said.
