COTABATO CITY (PNA) – The death toll from severe tropical storm ‘’Paeng’’ in Maguindanao rose to 51 with 14 individuals still missing, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said Monday, Oct. 31.
A situation report released by the BARMM-Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi) said 31 persons were injured, mostly residents of a relocation site in Barangay Kusiong, Datu Odin Sinsuat hit by landslides at dawn on Thursday, Oct. 27.
BARMM READi, the humanitarian and disaster response unit of the autonomous region, said 31 of the fatalities were from Datu Odin Sinsuat, seven in Datu Blah Sinsuat, eight in Upi, three in Barira, one in South Upi, all in Maguindanao del Norte, and one in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.
It said that 582,884 individuals were affected from 202,598 households in 389 barangays across the region.
The office of BARMM Education Minister Mohaqher Iqbal monitored 84 schools across the region submerged by floodwater as of Sunday, Oct. 30.
At least three bridges in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur had been damaged and destroyed by flood.
These are the Kusiong-Tapian Bridge in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Nituan Bridge in Parang, and Labu-Labu Bridge in Datu Hofer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Norte.
BARMM Interior Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, his staff, and relief teams braved the roads and the huge river current to reach Barangay Matuber, Datu Blah Sinsuat.
Sinarimbo brought emergency relief aid to Datu Blah Sinsuat flood victims on Sunday afternoon.
Jafeer Sinsuat, chairperson of the most devastated Barangay Kusiong, said barangay watchmen noticed at past 1 a.m. on Thursday the unusual flow of water from Mount Minandar, a mountain covered with cogon grass.
“We sounded the alarm so that people can evacuate to safer ground,” Sinsuat said.
“But it was too late since an avalanche of huge rocks and boulders with mud cascaded quickly toward the relocation site inhabited by Teduray people, the Maguindanao Indigenous Peoples,” he added.
The closure of the Labu-Labu Bridge 1 has paralyzed the national highway linking Cotabato City and Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat province.
The Labu-Labu Bridge has been closed to traffic since Oct. 29 after it was damaged due to the swelling of the Allah River that flows from the Daguma Mountain range down to the Ligawasan Marsh.
Only pedestrians were allowed to cross the bridge as seen on pictures and videos circulating on social media.
But on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 30, the Datu Hoffer Ampatuan police has allowed motorcycles and tricycles to cross the bridge after engineers placed steel plates on damaged portions.
“Four-wheeled vehicles are not yet allowed for safety reasons. All four-wheeled vehicles going to Shariff Aguak or Cotabato City have to go around to Tacurong-Kabacan route,” Staff Sgt. Amil Datuali of the local police said.
Datuali suggested that motorists may also take the Lambayong (Sultan Kudarat) to Sultan sa Barongis (Maguindanao del Sur) route.
This route is accessible from Tacurong City through the town of Lambayong.
But motorists have to cross a river that separates the town of Lambayong and Sultan sa Barongis since the bridge is still under construction, said Staff Sgt. Sarabi Maulana of the Sultan sa Barongis police station.
Maulana said the route is passable even to four-wheel drive vehicles since the water level is lower than knee level. (with a report from Keith Bacongco)