ILIGAN CITY (MindaNews / 6 February) — For many Iliganons, it’s “Sendong” all over again as Tropical Storm “Basyang” battered many parts of Mindanao and the Visayas, but with a slight difference.

This time around, the Mandulog River that overflowed in December 2011 that claimed so many lives did not do as much damage.

It was Tubod River, about four kilometers down south between Barangays Mahayahay and Tubod, that wreaked havoc starting late Thursday night.

At 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, the Iligan City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (ICDRRMO) posted on its Facebook page that the Tubod Bridge was “not passable to all types of vehicles.” The bridge is situated in Iligan’s major highway connecting the city to the west, including the cities of Marawi, Pagadian, Ozamiz and Zamboanga.

At 7:14 a.m. Friday, the ICDRRMO posted an update that the bridge was still not passable, with an accompanying picture of the bridge covered in debris.

JP Albulario, known for his Facebook posts of the water level of the river below the Tubod Bridge during strong rains because he lives only a stone’s throw away, said it was the first time he saw the floodwaters rose this high in his 48 years of stay in Barangay Tubod.

He had several pictures and video clips of the river and the bridge posted all day Thursday until morning. In his 11:25 p.m. post that showed the water almost at the level of the bridge, he said: “Praying na dili mo overflow sa bridge ang tubig.”

His next post came about an hour later: “Sorry di na ko ka update, nag secure pa ko diri balay, hapit na mosulod sa balay.” Then followed by pictures of muddy water inside his house, various items in disarray.

His post early morning Friday showed floodwaters still at the level of Tubod Bridge, with debris piled up all over. “Grabe ang debris, probably one of the reasons ngano daghan nadamay sa baha,” JP lamented.

Dixie Paderanga, whose house in Barangay Mahayahay not far from the Tubod River was inundated during Sendong was once again flooded up to the second floor. She had the foresight to evacuate her three sons and her parents to safer ground — to her sister and to La Salle Academy where she teaches — as early as 2 p.m. Thursday.

Only her elder brother Vincent was left behind to look after their belongings. “I have no worry about him because he’s with the Navy,” she told MindaNews in a phone interview.

The flood control dike built on both sides of the Tubod River after Sendong was not able to serve its purpose this time as floodwaters overflowed.

When Dixie tried to go back to her house at 8 a.m. Friday morning to bring food for her brother, she still could not get through because the water current was still strong.

Cary Abad, who lives at Andrada Compound in Mahayahay about half a kilometer away from Tubod Bridge, left his house at 11 p.m. and knocked on the doors of Rene’s Diner and Pension House nearby for shelter. Around 50 of them from the neighborhood — including his entire family — were accommodated at the establishment’s second floor. Although floodwaters did not enter his home, he said it was higher than Sendong.

Gee Collantes, who works for the non-governmental organization Pakigdait Inc., abandoned their home in Purok Riverside in Barangay Palao past midnight when they noticed the flood was unlike the normal floods they had experienced in the past six years since staying in the area.

“Neighbors said that the flood was more than Sendong,” she said over telephone.

All five of them in the family sought refuge in a church his brother-in-law is attending.

Jajj D. Perfecto, who lives in a compound with relatives not far from the Mandulog River in Lambaguhon, Barangay San Roque, said they were totally safe and dry as Basyang inundated parts of Iligan. He theorized that the new bridge that replaced the one that collapsed during Sendong is high enough that it did not block debris flowing down the river.

He recalled that during Sendong, the water level was about a foot higher than the family’s Toyota Innova. His motorcycle disappeared in the flood as they all climbed up the second floor for safety.

In December 2011, thousands of logs — some illegally cut, some uprooted by the typhoon — were trapped underneath the bridge, creating the effect of a dam that caused the water to rise gradually, inundating Barangays San Roque and Hinaplanon, situated on the other side of the river. When the bridge could not anymore withstand the constant battering of the logs, it collapsed and flood waters came rushing down, the flashflood killing hundreds downstream as sleeping residents could not anymore have the time to react.

Among the areas in Iligan with the most fatalities during Sendong was Orchid Homes, situated by the mouth of the Mandulog River.

The government has since built a flood control project on both sides of the river, including the Mandulog River Esplanade that has now become a favorite site for runners and hikers, or anybody who just wants to enjoy the breeze from the river and the sea.

Confident that the area is now secure because of the flood control project, photographer George Cipriano moved back to Orchid Homes in 2019. He originally stayed there years before Sendong, sold his house to someone else who was unfortunate to suffer the big flood, and bought it back later.

Cipriano had a good sleep Thursday night, but waken up by his wife at 4:30 a.m. because of the ruckus in the neighborhood.

He walked to the esplanade and posted a live update on Facebook, showing the strong current of Mandulog River. “Fortunately, there was no flood in our subdivision,” he said.

Marc James Abitago, whose house not far from Mandulog River in Sitio Bayug was flooded during Sendong, said the effect was less than the 2011 flood, thanks to the flood control project.

He came home in November 2011 after working as a nurse in the United Kingdom. Then Sendong came less than a month later, wiping all the savings he earned at that time.

Abitago is thankful that he and his young family are safe now. (Bobby Timonera / MindaNews)