Up to 15K families affected by Cagayan de Oro floods

MANILA, Philippines - Floods spawned by tropical storm "Auring" and the continuous cold front-induced downpour have affected 12,000 to 15,000 families in Cagayan de Oro City so far, Mayor Constantino Jaraula said on Wednesday.

In an interview over radio dzBB, Jaraula said rains in the city that have been fluctuating from light to strong in the past few days have caused floods to lower but not to completely subside.

"Balik-balik ang paglakas ng ulan, mawawala in one hour to two hours, tapos balik na naman (The strength of the rain is fluctuating, sometimes it'd go away in one to two hours, then it will come again)," said the mayor, adding that several flights to the area have been cancelled in the past five days because of the weather.

Jaraullo said the last time the city experienced that kind of strong, continuous downpour was in 1957.

He appealed for food and clothing donations for the affected families, which he said has risen to possibly as much as 15,000 in Cagayan de Oro alone.

The mayor said he has also asked President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to impose a total logging ban and land conversion ban in the city and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, saying the dearth in rain forests have caused the floods.

"I have suggested to the President [to ban] logging even in the ARMM area," said Jaraullo.

Jaraullo said rain forests absorb 50 to 60 percent of rain water, but agricultural lands, even fully-developed ones, only absorb 10 to 15 percent.

On Monday, Jaraullo issued a directive banning abusive logging and mining operations in the city. In his order, the mayor said the floods caused by tropical storm Auring two weeks ago and the continuous downpour due to the cold front in the past few days were worsened by abusive logging and mining operations. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV

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In an interview, Linamon Vice Mayor Procopio Chang quoted residents as saying the flash flood was preceded by lightning at about 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, then the roaring sound of waterspouts.

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