Floods displace 25,000 in Maguindanao; Cebu suspends classes

CEBU residents wade through the flooded streets of Sikatuna in Barangay Parian, Cebu City, after heavy rains. TONEE DESPOJO/Cebu Daily News

COTABATO CITY—About 25,000 persons were affected by floods that hit 85 villages in Maguindanao province’s 11 municipalities, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) humanitarian office  said today.

Lawyer Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary and chair of the Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART), told reporters that despite floods brought about by torrential rains over the past few days in Maguindanao and nearby provinces, the affected families did not leave their homes.

A boy was reported killed in Blensong, Upi, Maguindanao, after a landslide hit a farmer’s house on Saturday. Three other family members were hurt.

The affected towns were Mamasapano, Ampatuan, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Pagalungan, Datu Montawal, Datu Abdullah Sangki, Datu Paglas, Rajah Buayan, Datu Piang, Sultan sa Barongis and Sultan Kudarat.

Alamia said that aside from flooded homes, HEART also monitored that some schools in Sultan sa Barongis, Mamasapano, Sultan Kudarat, Kabuntalan and Datu Piang were flooded.

Also affected were village health centers, rice fields and all those situated beside Rio Grande de Mindanao.

Over the weekend, HEART personnel distributed relief to affected families.

Alamia said her team was set to visit Datu Montawal and Pagalungan towns where several villages had been underwater for days.

Maguindanao, which hosts the country’s second largest marshland, is the catch basin of floodwater from the mountains of the provinces of North Cotabato, Davao Occidental, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

In Cebu City, Mayor Michael Rama ordered the suspension of classes on Monday afternoon to send public and private elementary and high school students home before the heavy downpour could start.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Visayas head Oscar Tabada said moderate to heavy rains were expected in Metro Cebu between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. as a result of the low pressure area affecting Eastern Samar province.

“The rain diameter is big,” Tabada told Rama in a phone conversation.

It has been raining in the city since last week. Thursday’s raining submerged various parts of the city in knee- to waist-deep water.

At least seven minor landslides were also reported in the mountain villages of Sapangdaku, Tagbao, Babag and Sudlon 2, covering portions of the barangay roads with soil and rocks.

Councilor Dave Tumulak said the city command center asked the 80 villages as early as 6 a.m. Monday to activate their disaster brigades to monitor developments in danger zones.

“We want them to monitor cave-ins and landslides and immediately clear obstructions manually. They can call the command center for assistance if they can no longer do it on their own,” he said.

Tumulak said 10 city-owned buses were also placed on standby to ferry stranded commuters when it started to rain. Reports from Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao, and Doris Bongcac, Inquirer Visayas