Heavy rain displaces 100 families, triggers landslide in South Cotabato

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – Heavy rain brought about by a low-pressure area caused flooding in several barangays in Banga town, South Cotabato, displacing around 100 families and triggering a landslide that isolated a community on Monday, February 13. 

No casualties or injuries were reported, but local officials said crops, particularly in the village of Reyes, sustained heavy damage. 

Also, hard hit were the villages of El Nonok, Rang-ay, Yangco, and Poblacion where the floodwater rose to waist-deep levels. 

Local and provincial disaster risk reduction management offices responded to the incident and were currently inspecting the affected areas.

The village of Rang-ay was also hit by rampaging flood waters, and a destructive landslide in one of its sections, Lambalas, covered part of a road with mud and boulders. Clearing operations were underway in the village.

Joseph Franco, head of Banga’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), said the rain continued through the night, causing floodwaters to enter homes and inundate agricultural fields in the primary corn-producing town. 

Franco said the barangay most affected by the flood was Reyes, which has a wide area of rice and corn fields. About 25 families were forced to evacuate or suffered heavy losses in the village as of Monday evening.

He said the local government was still in the process of assessing the extent of the damage, which could lead to the declaration of a state of calamity in the affected areas. 

Rolly Aquino, chief of South Cotabato’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO), said the capitol had to deploy its workers since Monday night to assist the local rescue teams in relocating the affected families to safer grounds. 

In the town center, at least 37 families were displaced by floodwaters in Purok Bagong Lipunan, Purok Ipi, and Purok Madonna, while 18 families were affected in Purok Palomar in Yangco, where the flood was also waist-deep. 

Floodwaters destroyed a fishpond in El Nonok village, where three families had to be rescued and brought to safer ground. 

The local and provincial disaster risk reduction management offices were still working to provide aid to the displaced families as of posting time.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Mindanao is currently being affected by the trough or extension of an LPA, bringing cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms even in the Visayas and Palawan.

But in a 2 pm advisory on Tuesday, February 14, Pagasa terminated its heavy rainfall warning in some areas in the Davao Region and Cotabato province where moderate have been observed for hours.

The state weather bureau, however, advised the public to be aware of potential risks such as flash floods and landslides in areas prone to these hazards, and take precautionary measures, including avoiding these areas and riverbanks. – Rappler.com