CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 6 February) – Tropical Storm “Basyang” (Penha) changed course early Friday, veering away from Northern Mindanao, although it still dumped heavy rains that inundated many parts of the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, where emergency responders had earlier been swamped with distress calls from several residents stranded in flood waters since Thursday night.

“Basyang would have severely impacted Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. This storm had the potential of Sendong,” Ann Fortich, Weather Services Chief of state weather bureau Pagasa said, referring to Tropical Storm “Sendong” in December 2011 that killed more than 1,000 people in the two cities.

Fortich said Basyang shifted northward toward the Bohol Sea after making its first landfall in Bayabas town, Surigao del Sur, at 11:50 p.m. Thursday.

She said that instead of continuing toward Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin as originally forecast, Basyang veered toward Bohol and southern Cebu.

But she added that despite changing course, Basyang still brought torrential rains and strong winds before making landfall in Bayabas.

Authorities said Basyang forced the evacuation of 9,339 families or 32,750 individuals from 15 towns in Misamis Oriental to gyms and schools on Thursday night.

Jade Adecer, Cagayan de Oro City Information Officer said four people were killed in a landslide in Barangay Agusan on Thursday night.

Paul Lariosa and his wife, Rufa, were asleep when loosened earth buried their shanty in Purok 1, Sambulawan, Barangay Agusan.

Adecer said rescuers later recovered the bodies of the couple’s 14-year-old niece and an 11-month-old baby girl from the debris.

He said a total of 643 families, or 2,298 individuals, from 14 barangays were brought to evacuation centers by rescuers working under extreme conditions and complete darkness.

As of 3 p.m. Friday, a portion of the Cagayan de Oro highway in Sitio Baloy, Barangay Cugman, remained flooded and was passable only by trucks and buses. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)