BIÑAN, Laguna, Philippines?A piece of government property reserved for a public cemetery will be used temporarily as a relocation site for families displaced by the lingering floods brought on by a spate of nasty storms.

The three-hectare property in the village of San Antonio in Biñan, Laguna, was originally intended to be the town's public cemetery. But with the unexpected rise of floodwaters, the municipal government decided to temporarily use half a hectare of the land to house the storm-stricken families, Biñan Mayor Len Alonte-Naguiat said in an interview.

Biñan was said to be the hardest-hit town in Laguna, a month after Tropical Storm Ondoy (international codename: Ketsana) dumped heavy rains and left towns on the shores of Laguna de Bay submerged in water.

In Biñan, about 2,000 families remain displaced from their homes.

The Laguna Lake Development Authority maintained that the flood would remain until December or early next year.

"Prioritize the living first," said Councilor Gat Alatiit, who also chairs the municipal council?s committee on peace and order.

Alatiit said the so-called "tent city" that is to rise on the cemetry site was provided by the Swiss Red Cross through an agreement with the municipal government.

"It will not actually be made of tents but barracks made of wood and iron," he said.

The Swiss Red Cross is providing 150 barracks that can each house up to 10 families.

"We can relocate about 1,500 families here," Naguiat said.

The construction of the barracks started last week and is expected to to be completed in the second week of November.

Alatiit said the residents will come mostly from the village of Dela Paz where the flood remains at six feet high.

"When the flood subsides, the families will also have to return to their homes," he noted.

About 500 families who were victims of Ondoy in Biñan will be given permanent shelter in the village of Langkiwa, another relocation site that is managed by the National Housing Authority.