Floods hit 2 Mindanao regions; 1 dead, thousands displaced

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines—Flash floods triggered by rains left one dead and displaced some 25,000 people in two regions in Mindanao, officials said Tuesday.

In Glan town, Sarangani province, a woman died when she and four other members of her family were swept away by flood waters in Barangay (village) Kapatan around 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Senior Police Officer 4 Danilo Abataya of the police station in Glan identified the fatality as Ening Padayag, 37, who was crossing a creek with her husband and three children on their way home when the waters suddenly rose and swept them away.

In Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat, assistant regional director for social welfare and development Gemma Rivera said around 2,000 families, or 10,000 people, from low-lying villages were affected by flooding due to bad weather since Sunday.

Rivera said there was no reported casualty and that the government was assisting the flood victims.

In Sarangani province, floods also struck General Santos City and Alabel town, affecting more than 1,000 families.

In the Caraga region, disaster officials said 14,063 residents, or about 2,879 families, in 13 villages in the lakeside towns in Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte provinces were also displaced by floods. There were no reported deaths, they said.