Mindanao floods drown 1, plague 351 families

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Executive Officer Benito Ramos reported Tuesday that floods caused by a Shallow Low Pressure Area 100 kilometers from Mindanao drowned an unidentified male adult in Pangyan village in Glan town, Sarangani province and beset around 351 families in different parts of the island. 

 

Ramos, who is also the administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, added that Margus village, which is also in Glan, was flooded as well and caused 26 families to evacuate to the town’s gymnasium where the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and other concerned agencies are now attending to them.

 

In Sultan Kudarat, flashfloods plagued the villages of Obial, Sta. Clara, Hanalaan and Himulan in Kalamansig town, affecting at least 320 families, 23 of which were evacuated to higher ground.

 

Ramos said clogged culverts are partly to blame for the flooding in Sultan Kudarat. An engineering task force from the municipality has now been tasked to clear the culverts.

 

In Kidapawan City, Cotabato, Ramos said five families were evacuated to a Day Care Center in the city when a flashflood inundated Poblacion village.

 

He explained that the risk reduction and management council and social welfare units in Kidapawan have pre-positioned rescue equipment and relief goods “in case of any eventualities” and concerned city officials are closely monitoring the situation. — DVM, GMA News