Tropical cyclone Basyang leaves eight dead, thousands displaced — OCD

Tropical cyclone Basyang (international name: Penha) has claimed at least eight lives, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported Saturday.

OCD deputy spokesperson Diego Agustin Mariano said the reported fatalities include four in Cagayan de Oro City due to a landslide, three in Iligan City with causes still under verification, and one in Agusan del Norte due to drowning, according to OCD Caraga. Mariano stressed that all reports remain subject to validation.

The Police Regional Office 10 said on Friday that four people were killed in a landslide at Zone 1, Sambulawan, Gabule Compound, Barangay Agusan, Cagayan de Oro City, during the onslaught of Basyang. Police said a newly constructed house was involved in the incident, noting that weak structural pillars and continuous heavy rainfall caused the structure to collapse. A large pile of soil excavated during construction also eroded and fell onto the property.

Mariano said the four fatalities belonged to one family, including two adults and two children. Two other individuals were reportedly injured.

Iligan City was placed under a state of calamity on Friday due to the effects of Basyang. A year-old steel bridge collapsed in Barangay Puga-an, while strong flood currents reaching waist level swept away vehicles along a road in Barangay Mahayahay.

Three people reportedly died in Iligan City due to flooding caused by heavy rains, according to the Iligan City Social Welfare and Development Office, as reported by James Paolo Yap on Saksi on Friday. Local officials said around 3,800 families were affected in the city.

In Cagayan de Oro City, more than 2,000 individuals were evacuated.

Basyang, then a tropical storm, made landfall over Bayabas, Surigao del Sur, on Thursday evening. It brought heavy rains as it crossed Agusan del Norte and the Bohol Sea before making another landfall over Bohol as a tropical depression. State weather forecasters said Basyang made a total of five landfalls, stranding thousands of passengers nationwide as sea travel was suspended.

By Friday night, Basyang was over Negros Oriental as it continued to weaken. At 2 a.m. Saturday, it had weakened into a low pressure area (LPA). By 4 a.m., the LPA was located about 105 kilometers southeast of Cuyo, Palawan, moving westward at 25 kilometers per hour. At 8 a.m., the LPA had dissipated.