NoCot flash floods kill farmer; 12k residents displaced by calamity in Maguindanao

PAGALUNGAN, Maguindanao  – Torrential rains spawned by recent weather disturbances in Mindanao have triggered flash floods in North Cotabato and Maguindanao the past days.

In Maguindanao, more than 12,000 residents were forced to evacuate after the Kabaan river and Malitubog-Maridagao rivers overflowed and the water inundated residential areas in Pagalungan and nearby Montawal, also in Maguindanao, and Pikit in North Cotabato.

Displaced families, mostly Moro people, are now staying in makeshift homes beside the national highway linking Cotabato and Davao cities.

Pagalungan, the most affected towns in Maguindanao, sits beside the Liguasan marsh, a vast wetlands encompassing three provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat and served as “catch basin” of flood waters from Agusan and Kabacan Rivers.

Pagalungan Mayor Salik Mamasabulod of Pagalungan was stunned to realize the floods had been with them for a almost a week now.

“All our 11 villages are under water, this is the worst flood that hit my town since I was a child,” Mayor Mamasabulod said. “Worst, it came when we do not experience rain here but there,” he said, pointing to the mountains of Bukidnon and North Cotabato.

“We need flood control projects here, I hope our regional and national government can help us,” he said.

in Makilala, North Ctoabato, a man died and hundreds of residents were forced to flee their homes as heavy rains triggered flashfloods in two villages.

Lito Cañedo, the town’s information officer, identified the drowning fatality as Edzel Gudmalen, 33, a farmer-resident of Purok 1A, Barangay Kisante.

“He tried to gather his livestock, but the flood swept him away,” Cañedo said on Tuesday.

Heavy rains triggered the flooding at 4 p.m. Monday and caused the Bulatukan River to overflow, its rampaging waters carrying mud and debris including small trees and branches on its path.

Initial data from the Municipal Disaster Risk and Reduction Management (MDRRM) showed five houses were damaged, while 126 families in New Bulatukan and 76 families in neighboring Barangay Kisante were forced to evacuate.

Flooded Maguindanao marshland

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (MAFAR-BARMM) reported that more than 200 hectares of land have been submerged by the floods.

Assessment on the cost of damages to agriculture is still on-going.

Aid of food packs and safe drinking water with medicine had been pouring for the displaced families from the BARMM regional government.

Vice Mayor Abdillah Mamasabulod said parents continue to help their children go through modular learning while in temporary shelters beside the highway.

“Modular learning continues even in evacuation sites, this is good because parents still prioritize education despite the calamity,” he said.