New storm off Samar; ARMM hit by floods

COTABATO CITY—A state of calamity was simultaneously declared here and in the entire Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday after continuous rains swelled rivers and inundated low-lying villages, displacing some 80,000 families.

A 3-year-old girl from the village of Poblacion Uno here is feared dead from drowning in the Matampay River, but her body has yet to be recovered, city administrator Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi said.

Latest figures from the Cotabato City disaster and risk management council showed that floodwaters have already submerged 30 of the city’s 37 villages, prompting some 17,863 families to move to higher grounds.

Flash flood

Mayor Japal Guiani Jr., who is also disaster council chair, said this year’s flash flood is worse than that of 2008 which prompted then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to create a presidential task force on Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development Program and appointed Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo as its head.

Guiani is appealing for national aid since the city’s contingency fund of P4 million, which was used in the relief, transport and clearing operation work in clogged waterways, has been exhausted.

“If the weather continues to deteriorate, we might have a totally submerged city,” said Guiani, whose house near the Matampay bridge was not spared by the rising floodwaters.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, the weather bureau said Tropical Depression “Egay” was sighted 250 kilometers east of Guian City, Eastern Samar province, and was moving northwest at 13 km per hour.

It had maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Egay would enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains over the western sections of Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Warning

It warned those living in low-lying and mountainous areas against possible flash floods and landslides.

By Saturday afternoon, Egay is expected to be 250 km southeast of Virac, Catanduanes province, and 200 km north northeast of Virac, Catanduanes, by Sunday afternoon.

By Monday afternoon, Egay is forecast to be 180 km northeast of Tuguegarao, Cagayan province.

ARMM executive secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said hard hit by the calamity were the ARMM provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Sulu. “Reports that a number of towns were also affected in Basilan and Tawi-Tawi are being assessed by government agencies,” Sinarimbo said.

In North Cotabato, some 91 houses made of light materials were swept away by rampaging waters in Midsayap, an adjacent town of equally flooded Kabuntalan in Maguindanao province, said Colonel Roy Galido, commander of the 40th Infantry Battalion.

Troops, along with local government units and the community, helped flood victims evacuate to higher grounds, said Galido who warned residents living beside riverbanks to be always prepared for any eventuality.

Sinarimbo said the city, although not part of ARMM, is assured of relief and other forms of assistance, being its provisional seat of government.

Subdivisions’ fault

In Davao City, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has asked the city council to be more strict in approving housing development proposals after some groups blamed the worsening floods in the city on the sprouting of subdivisions.

Councilor Bernard Al-ag, chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s housing committee, told reporters here on Thursday that Duterte also asked him and the committee on public works to review all proposed subdivision projects submitted to the city council.

Al-ag said Duterte wanted to make sure that project proponents would follow their proposed drainage plans to the smallest detail.

He said Duterte also directed the establishment of a monitoring committee which would inspect all existing subdivisions to ensure that developers put up efficient drainage systems as required by law.

“Some developers have presented a very good (drainage) plan to the city council for approval purposes only. Some developers are actually not complying with drainage system and other facilities as described in their plans,” he said.

On April 5, heavy rains submerged many parts of the Davao City in knee-deep water, stalling traffic and stranding thousands of commuters.

In Maa village, the homeowners’ association said the floods there were minimal before more subdivisions were built.  With a report from Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao