Babies saved in styro boxes amid Maguindanao floods

Rescuers braved roof-high flood waters to save residents trapped in their homes as heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Paeng pounced the provinces of Maguindanao, Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao, according to reports on "24 Oras."

In Parang town, Maguindanao, a baby was placed in a stryo box and another in a plastic container box to keep them dry while being rescued.

Several elderly citizens in Upi town were carried into rubber boats as their homes get submerged in the raging waters.

Rescue teams who went from house to house were up against the rains and fallen trees that block their way.

A gymnasium became like  swimming pool due to the incessant rains.  The people gathered for an event in honor of indigenous peoples climbed up the gallery to avoid getting wet.

A landslide in Barangay Romangaob temporarily blocked the road with mud until it was cleared later in the day.

In Datu Odin Sinsuat town, a bridge was damaged by torrential rains, which also raised waters to as high as the roofs of houses.

Thirty-one people were reported dead in Maguindanao following floods and landslides caused by Paeng, an official of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said Friday.

BARMM Interior and Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said 16 of the fatalities were reported in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat, 10 in Datu Blah T. Sinsuat, and five in Upi as of 3 p.m.

"Meron kaming request, iyong aircraft nila C130 baka pwedeng isakay iyong water purification machine para ma-deploy namin dito. I'm  sure magiging problema in the coming hours yung potable water," he said.

In Pigkawayan, Cotabato, town mayor Totoy Agustin used social media to air his appeal for help.

"Nananawagan po kami, baka may rubber boat kayo dyan o bangka," he said while in a rescue mission with his team.

In the town of Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat, residents were seen crossing through raging waters while gripping a rope to get to higher grounds.  Children were carried by their parents whole crossing.

Several residents like Maribel Oroc lament losing their animals and possessions to the flood.

Local officials manning evacuation centers appealed for aid like food, sleeping mats and milk for babies.—LDF, GMA News