COTABATO CITY (PNA) – A heavy downpour overnight here brought by the tail end of Typhoon Quinta has flooded 17 of 37 city villages, with some submerged in waist-deep waters, the city disaster management office reported Monday.

The severely affected villages included Barangays Tamontaka 2, Tamontaka 3, Tamontaka 4, Tamontaka 5, Rosary Heights 7, Poblacion 7, Poblacion 8, and Poblacion 9.

Moderate flooding was reported in Barangays Bagua 3, Tamontaka 1, Poblacion Mother Barangay, Poblacion 1, Poblacion 2, Poblacion 3, Rosary Heights 3, Rosary Heights 6, and Rosary Heights 8.

“We are closely monitoring severely affected areas for possible evacuation if necessary,” Reynaldo Ridao, city disaster risk reduction, and management officer, said in an interview on Monday.

He said the city government has initially extended relief aid to some 500 families affected by the floods.

“Relief assistance would continue as teams are continuously repacking goods for the affected families,” Ridao said.

In nearby Maguindanao province, floods have also inundated 12 of its 36 towns.

“A total of 40,499 households were affected by the floods,” Nashrullah Imam, Maguindanao PDRRMO chief, said over a local radio station here Monday.

The affected towns included Mother Kabuntalan, Northern Kabuntalan, Datu Paglas, Datu Paglat, Sultan Sa Barongis, Buluan, Datu Piang, Sultan Kudarat, Talitay, Pandag, Pagalungan, and Datu Montawal.

Maguindanao Governor Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu said relief teams were on their way to the affected areas with 8,692 and 10,608 families severely hit by the floods from the towns of Montawal and Pagalungan, respectively, receiving initial aid from the provincial government.