In the soft gray of a Philippine dawn, the world can feel both hushed and heavy — the sun reluctant to rise, clouds lingering low and laden with yesterday’s rain. In places like Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City, the land bears marks of long seasons, where rivers and hills rise and recede with the monsoon’s passage. Yet after Tropical Storm “Basyang,” the air has seemed particularly weighted, as though holding the memory of each drop that fell and pooled upon the earth.
The storm brought rainfall described by the country’s weather authorities as exceeding a hundred-year return period in parts of northern Mindanao, a volume so great that rivers could not contain it and drainage systems were overwhelmed. In that rainfall — measured against long records and familiar patterns — there was a sense not merely of water falling from the sky, but of nature pressing insistently against the edges of settlement and routine.
As the waters gathered, the motion of daily life shifted. Homes near riverbanks and low-lying areas were submerged, their occupants urged toward evacuation centers or higher ground as warnings escalated. Bottled water, food packs, and relief kits quietly replaced ordinary rhythms, distributed by social welfare teams moving through shelters where families gathered with few possessions, waiting for the rain to loosen its hold.
Amid these currents of flood and displacement, loss emerged in sudden and sorrowful ways. Authorities confirmed that the death toll from Basyang rose to twelve, with fatalities linked largely to landslides and drowning. In Cagayan de Oro City, members of a single family were buried when rain-soaked soil collapsed above their home. Elsewhere, swollen rivers swept away those caught in their surge, while floodwaters rose too quickly for escape.
Communities already shaped by monsoon seasons found themselves navigating fresh uncertainty. Roads became impassable beneath mud and debris, bridges were weakened or washed out, and power interruptions lingered as waters slowly receded. Across parts of Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Caraga, Negros Island, and northern Mindanao, residents measured time not by days but by waterlines on walls and the cautious return to homes still damp with silence.
When the rain eased, the landscape did not immediately recover its former calm. Soil remained unstable, riverbanks bruised, and familiar paths softened underfoot. Recovery unfolded patiently: damage assessments, restoration of utilities, and the careful accounting of what could be salvaged and what was lost. In evacuation centers, conversations turned quietly toward rebuilding, even as grief lingered without spectacle.
In clear terms, Tropical Storm “Basyang” left at least twelve people dead and affected hundreds of thousands across multiple Philippine regions. Rainfall levels in some areas were reported to be roughly twice those recorded during Tropical Storm “Sendong” in 2011, underscoring the scale of flooding and disruption brought by the storm.
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Sources (Media Names Only)
Inquirer Gulf News OneNews.PH National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council