(SECOND UPDATE)
At least 42 persons died in Maguindanao, most of them due to drowning, while more than 5,000 individuals were displaced in Western Visayas (Region 6) as Tropical Cyclone “Paeng” caused widespread flooding that reached the roof of many houses, disaster officials said Friday, Oct. 28.
Paeng was traversing west northwestward of the Philippine Sea while the eye of the storm was located 410 km east of Borongan City, Eastern Samar as of 5 a.m. Friday, catching disaster officials in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) offguard.
Nasrullah Imam, head of the Maguindanao provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO) in BARMM, said the fatalities in their area were recorded in the municipalities of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Blah Sinsuat, and Upi, and there are fears that the number will further increase.
This was confirmed by BARMM interior and local minister Naguib Sinarimbo in an interview with defense reporters.
Sinarimbo said 27 fatalities were reported in Datu Odin Sinsuat; 10 in Datu Blah Sinsuat; and five in Upi.
“Nakakabigla po kasi ang mga municipalities na tinamaan ay hindi naman talaga binabaha. Ang Maguindanao ay catch basin at ang mga municipalities na malapit sa Liguasan Marsh ay normal pa ang tubig. Ang highland areas po ang tinamaan ng landslide at sabay ng flashflood (It really surprised us because the affected municipalities are the ones that are not prone to flooding. Maguindanao is a catch basin and the municipalities near the Liguasan Marsh have normal water level as of now. The highland areas are the ones affected by landslide and flashflood),” Imam said.
According to Sinarimbo, 11 bodies were retrieved on Friday night in Brgy. Kusiong, Datu Odin Sinsuat after the community was affected by widespread flooding.
"Yes, medyo marami sa Kusiong dahil ito ang hardest-hit so far. May mga naitawid naman doon sa bumahang river. Ang nireretrieve natin eh ang mga bangkay. May mga natira pa sa ilalim (Yes, there were so many in Barangay Kusiong because it was the hardest-hit area so far. We rescued some residents from the flooded river. We are retrieving the bodies of the fatalities now. Some of them were still underneath)," Sinarimbo said.
Six persons were also missing in Datu Blah Sinduat, 10 in Upi, and "several others" in Kusiong, Datu Odin Sinsuat, he added.
Aside from this, heavy flooding was also recorded in other municipalities like Sultan Kudarat, Parang, North Upi, South Upi, Talayan, and Guindulungan.
“Mayroon pa pong iba na hindi pa natatagpuan. Talagang flashflood ang karamihan kasi tinamaan ang mga bahay nila at nasa loob sila (There are others that are yet to be found. Most of them were victims of flashflood when they were caught while inside their homes),” Imam said.
“'Yung iba po katulad ng sa Upi, mga attic na lang ng school ang nakikita dahil sa baha samantalang ‘yung kayang tawirin ng mga tao, nasa kilikili na po banda (In other areas like in Upi, only the attic of schools are visible due to flooding while in other areas that are still accessible, the flood has reached armpit-level),” the official added.
Rescue teams were already dispatched in Sultan Kudarat, Cotabato City, Upi, Poblacion Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat, and Datu Blan Sinsuat to save other stranded individuals.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,322 families composed of 5,266 persons were affected by Paeng in Western Visayas, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Of the number, a total of 862 families or 3,348 persons were staying in evacuation centers.
“Kahapon lang umulan at sobrang bilis ng pagtaas ng baha. Ito ‘yung grabe ‘yung pagbaha sa probinsya ng Aklan. Before 2019, apektado na kami ng Ursula pero hindi ganito kalala (The rain only started yesterday and the waters quickly rose. The severe flooding is in Aklan. Before 2019, we were affected by Typhoon Ursula but not this worse),” said Cindy Ferrer, information officer of the Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas (OCD-6).
"Sa mga nakita namin sa social media posts, lagpas bahay na ang baha doon sa Aklan. Marami rin ang nastranded na light vehicles sa national road dahil mataas ang baha (Based on our monitoring of social media posts, flood in Aklan reached the roof of some houses. Many light vehicles were also stranded in the national road because of flooding)," she added.
Ferrer said rescue operations were ongoing in Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo and Negros Occidental to save other stranded residents.