SUBMERGED Several communities in General Santos City, including this area in the village of Lagao, remain flooded on Wednesday as heavy and continuous rain on Tuesday night caused creeks and irrigation canals to overflow. —ROMMEL G. REBOLLIDO
ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines — Heavy downpour in parts of Mindanao on Tuesday night flooded several areas in the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani and General Santos City, prompting residents in low-lying villages to flee their homes.
In South Cotabato, a 45-year-old farmer drowned after he was swept away by rampaging waters in Surallah town on Tuesday.
Leonardo Ballon, municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer of Surallah, said the victim, Roger Barnezo, was driving a tricycle, with his wife and son as passengers, across a bridge at 10 p.m. when they fell into the raging Ala River.
Infra damage
Ballon said Barnezo’s wife and son were rescued. A search team on Wednesday fished Barnezo’s body out of the river in nearby Bagumbayan town in Sultan Kudarat province.
Rains persisted until the wee hours of Wednesday, triggering landslides and flooding in several towns across South Cotabato.
An initial assessment by the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (PDRRMO) and the provincial engineering office in Surallah town showed damage to a river control dike in Barangay Talahik, two footbridges in Barangay Buenavista, and a bridge in Barangay Veterans that connects to Lake Sebu town.
The PDRRMO said it had coordinated with the Department of Public Works and Highways to start repairs. In Lake Sebu, at least 100 families were temporarily cut off from the town center after a footbridge in Barangay Halilan was damaged by floodwaters.
A portion of the road in Lemkroo village was also rendered impassable after a landslide blocked it with mud, rocks and fallen trees. Local government workers started clearing the road on Wednesday morning.
Also on Wednesday, residents of Barangay Laconon in Tboli town started clearing debris left by a swollen river.
Clogged waterways
Water from the swollen Ala River flooded Barangay Kulambog in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, affecting some 60 families.
In Lambayong town, disaster response officials asked residents on Tuesday to evacuate, especially those in low-lying areas. As of Wednesday morning, floodwaters had yet to subside in the villages of Pinguiaman, Madanding, Udtong and Tinumigues.
In General Santos City, clogged waterways choked the flow of rainwater into the sea, turning roads in 13 of 26 villages into virtual rivers on Tuesday night.
The knee-deep flood prompted some 146 families in Apopong, Labangal and Ligao villages to evacuate.
Many commuters on their way home were stranded after public transport vehicles stopped plying their routes while other roads were rendered impassable.
According to Dr. Agripino Dacera, action officer of the city disaster risk reduction and management office, the impact of the sustained heavy rains was made worse by the high tide.
The rains triggered outages in some parts of the city after several trees fell on electric poles, a report from the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative said.
Floods also hit the towns of Maitum, Kiamba, Glan, Malapatan, Alabel and Malungon in Sarangani.