Floods force thousands out of homes in North Cotabato

KABACAN, North Cotabato – Floods spawned by days of heavy rain have swamped the homes of at least 19,000 people in low-lying villages in this municipality.

Don Saure, chief of the municipal disaster risk reduction management office, said Friday that the villages affected by the floods included Dagupan, Cuyapon, Upper Paatan, Katidtuan, Pedtad and Lower Paatan.

“Hundreds of hectares of newly planted ricefields were submerged and might not be salvaged anymore,” Saure said.

Saure said the floods triggered by rain were brought about by an inter-tropical convergence zone affecting many parts of Mindanao for days now. The rains have swollen the Kabacan River and the Rio Grande de Mindanao.

He said there have been no reports of casualties so far.

Saure said many of the affected residents had left their homes.

“They are now temporarily seeking refuge in nearby villages that have not been affected by the flooding,” Saure said.

He said the flooding could lead to the declaration of the town under a state of calamity if it worsens.

The station of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geographical and Astronomical Services Administration in Maguindanao, said the intertropical convergence zone was expected to bring more rain.

Mayor Herlo Guzman said he had directed the social welfare office assess the situation even as food packages had been distributed to the victims.

Guzman said the town’s agriculture office was assessing the damage to agriculture to determine what assistance could be given to the affected farmers.

He said a declaration of a state of calamity would clear the way for the utilization of the P5.4-million disaster-relief fund for food and agriculture.

But Sannguniang Bayan Secretary Beatriz Maderas said there might be no need for the local legislature to make such declaration.

She said the North Cotabato provincial board’s resolution that placed the entire province under a state of calamity may only have to be adopted so that the mayor would be authorized to use the calamity fund.

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