DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 24 July 2026) — Upstream rains caused floods in Tugbok and Talomo districts, leaving scores stranded on higher ground, with some reportedly on the roof.
Emergency responders recorded calls of patients seeking evacuation in several homes in Bangkal in Talomo district, Riverside in Tugbok, and Purok Gulayan in Barangay Catalunan Pequeño.
Talomo Teachers Village and San Juan Village were also affected.
Critical water levels reaching above human height (“lampas tao”) were reported at NHA Bangkal Phase 3, Matutum St. Bangkal and Teachers Village, Phase 2 in Talomo.
By 11:45 p.m., the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) announced that water levels in all city river systems had already subsided.
The CDRRMO called for preemptive evacuation at around 9:30 p.m. in
Matina Pangi, Matina Crossing, and Matina Aplaya as water levels approached Code Red (critical level).
CDRRMO chief Alfredo Baloran ordered all barangays along the Matina and Talomo Rivers to evacuate by 9:38 p.m.
Water reportedly overflowed at the dike near Purok Gulayan in Catalunan Pequeno and water reached above human height.
Around 24 homes were affected in Gulayan, affecting 30 families, as evacuees opted to stay temporarily with neighbors. By 10:30 p.m., water subsided in the Tugbok area, prompting rescuers assigned to check into the Tugbok Gym to move to another highly flooded area’s staging area in Lourdes Chapel in Bangkal.
Around 9 p.m., maritime units from the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard asked for power to be cut in Teachers Village, San Agustin, Balabag, Ortega, and Sunnyville to protect rescuers and trapped individuals.
Maritime units conducting rescue in Taal 1 and 2 in Bangkal likewise asked for power cuts in their areas.
In Bangkal, MindaNews monitored scores of individuals seeking assistance.
In Teachers Village, at least 38 individuals were trapped in Phase 2, with the evacuees forced to stay on ledges on higher ground.
In one home, there were 30 individuals trapped, among them 10 to 20 children, two seniors, and three persons with disability.
In another call, eight individuals were trapped on the higher floor of a boarding house in Bangkal.
“Tabang!” (Help), journalist Margarita “Gingging” Valle wrote at 9:43 p.m. on her social media page as floodwaters reached “lampas ulo” in their village in Talomo. By 10:37 p.m., she posted: “lampas ulo pa gihapon ang baha sa Talomo and all around… we need help.”
They sought refuge on the second floor of their house.
Floodwaters in their started to recede at around 11 p.m. but by 11:20, she wrote: “lawom pa” (still deep).
The City Engineer’s Office also sent over dump trucks to assist trapped individuals.
In Matina Aplaya, 15 individuals were reportedly trapped at Purok 12, near the San Ignacio Loyola Chapel.
Fifteen individuals were also trapped near San Juan Village, near the Leon Garcia Elementary School.
Mandatory evacuation
As early as 6:38 p.m., the CDRRMO had ordered mandatory evacuation of residents along the Talomo River upstream and downstream as waters exceeded critical levels.
The Matina River was monitored at Code Yellow (alert level).
By 9 p.m., disaster response teams in the barangays were ordered to go on rekorida or a roving team to warn residents along riverbanks, with a loud First Alarm activated citywide to alert residents.
Residents near the Matina River were eventually ordered to evacuate preemptively by 9:45 p.m., as a second alarm was activated.
By 1145pm, the CDRRMO announced water levels in all city river systems had subsided.
By 11:50 p.m., the CDRRMO said floodwaters along the Talomo River and along Barangay Tugbok Proper upstream and downstream were already gradually subsiding even as it reached critical levels downstream.
The Matina Biao, Matina Crossing, and Matina Pangi portions of the Matina River likewise subsided gradually by midnight. (Yas D. Ocampo / MindaNews, with reports from Carolyn O. Arguillas)
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