KIDAPAWAN CITY – Close to 35,000 families from low-lying towns in Maguindanao and North Cotabato have been affected by flooding caused by torrential rains since October 14, a disaster response official said.
According to Arnulfo Villaruz, Cotabato Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) operations and warning chief, said at least 22,000 families from towns of Pikit and Kabacan were affected by flashfloods.
Of the number, 20,000 families were from the 30 barangays of Pikit, and the rest from 10 barangays of Kabacan, all in North Cotabato.
Meantime, in M’lang, also a town in North Cotabato, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), led by Fire Marshall Marleap Nabor; MDRMM officers, and rescue volunteers continued their almost one-week of search and retrieval operations for a 44-year old farmer, who was reportedly overcome by the raging flood waters in Barangay New Laawan last October 14.
Reports from BFP in M’lang said that, as of October 20, rescue volunteers have failed to find the victim.
Nabor ordered search operations for the missing man stopped because of the heavy rains that started pouring, around 5 p.m., also on Tuesday.
Villaruz said that Barangay New Lawaan in M’lang is located near the Liguasan marsh, a catch basin of waters coming from Rio Grande de Mindanao.
Also on Tuesday, rescue workers in nearby Makilala town retrieved the body of 33-year old Elden Gudmalen, hours after he was swept by the strong current of flood waters in Barangay Kisante.
Makilala Mayor Armando Quibod said Gudmalen tried to save one of his farm animals from drowning when he was hit by “balls of water” coming from upper stream.
The heavy flooding since Monday affected 250 families from Barangays Kisante and New Bulatucan, according to Quibod.
In Maguindanao province, two towns located near the Pulangi River have also been inundated by floodwaters since October 14, according to Pagalungan Vice Mayor Abdilla Mamasabulod.
He said at least 10,000 families from his town were severely affected.
“We were in a quandary why until now the waters have not subsided. Our constituents have nowhere to go but to stay in their homes, sometimes up to the roofs of their houses. We have no high grounds where they could stay because every part of the land here is already flooded, even barangays located near the national highway were not spared,” said Mamasabulod in a media interview.
Mamasabulod said that the Sangguniang Bayan, which he presides, has already declared state of calamity in his town so they could use a portion of their MDRRM fund for disaster response.
Nearby town Datu Montawal, also in Maguindanao, was also placed under state of calamity because of the natural disaster, reports said.
Villaruz said that from October 14 until October 15, the National Power Corporation (Napocor) has released 94 cubic meters of water per second from its dam in Bukidnon.
On October 16, it released 64 cubic meters per second which caused heavy flooding in low-lying areas, especially in North Cotabato and Maguindanao, according to Villaruz.
“The Napocor did not inform us about the release of waters from their dam. We were just as surprised as everyone here,” said Villaruz.