SARANGANI, Philippines – The provincial government of Maguindanao del Sur has placed the province under a state of calamity following floods that inundated about 70% of its towns and affected thousands of families.
Maguindanao del Sur Governor Mariam Mangudadatu said on Tuesday, July 16, that the number of families affected by the widespread flooding has been increasing based on reports from emergency response workers.
“The state of calamity will allow us to use funds to support affected municipalities. They cannot be left on their own in this situation,” Mangudadatu said.
The provincial government reported that at least 17 of Maguindanao del Sur’s 24 towns were flooded, and workers documented the death of a farmer as rampaging floodwaters hit his village.
Officials claimed that the number of affected families has increased to 71,000 from more than 68,000 reported last week by disaster response groups from various local governments. As of 2020, before it was split into two political territories, Maguindanao had a population of over 741,000.
Still reeling from the devastation caused by the El Niño phenomenon that displaced farmers from their livelihoods, the floods this time have submerged a wide area of farmlands in over 100 villages, Mangudadatu told reporters in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.
Mangudadatu said they have yet to determine the extent of the damage caused by the floods, which have submerged school buildings and houses. Several houses were reported to have been swept away by floodwaters, she said.
The move on Tuesday, July 16, by the Maguindanao del Sur provincial board in declaring the province in a state of calamity was the second time this year – the first was in April, following the damaging effects of weeks of dry spell, resulting in losses in crops and livestock worth nearly P346 million.
In declaring the province in a state of calamity, the Maguindanao del Sur provincial board noted reports that 161 villages have been underwater, destroying farmlands, crops, and livestock.
Maguindanao del Sur Vice Governor Nathaniel Midtimbang said with 17 towns severely flooded, it was enough grounds to declare a state of calamity in the province.
“Nahihirapan na mga tao (The people are suffering),” he told local reporters.
On Sunday, June 14, search and rescue workers found the remains of a 22-year-old male farmer in Pagalungan town. Benjamin Alip, Pagalungan disaster management officer, said the young farmer tried to save his cow from drowning in floodwaters in Barangay Damalasak.
Most towns in Maguindanao del Sur are along one of Mindanao’s largest wetlands – the more than 200,000-hectare Ligawasan Marsh that usually overflows during heavy downpours.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head Ameer Jehad Ambolodto said the affected towns are as follows:
- Pagalungan
- Montawal
- Datu Piang
- General SK Pendatun
- Datu Abdullah Sangki
- Datu Salibo
- Mamasapano
- Sultan sa Barongis
- Shariff Saydona Mustapha
- Ampatuan
- Datu Unsay
- Datu Saudi Ampatuan
- Shariff Aguak
- Rajah Buayan
- Datu Anggal Midtimbang
- Paglat
- Pandag
He said houses have been destroyed and they are still closely monitoring the situation because the rain usually stops only briefly before heavy downpours.
Ambolodto said they have constantly reminded residents to stay on safer grounds and avoid the risk of being in low-lying areas or along riverbanks.
In Pagalungan town, the PDRRMO head said residents have to bring their belongings along the shoulder of the more elevated national highway, “but with rains almost not stopping, even the highway has been flooded.”
Pagalungan and Montawal towns are along the Rio Grande de Mindanao, which overflowed its banks following a surge of water from Pulangi River in Bukidnon over the weekend.
These two Maguindanao del Sur towns suffer the same experience as that of their neighboring towns in Pikit and Kabacan in Cotabato province, whenever the Rio Grande swells.
The four towns along Rio Grande are in the direct path of the Pulangi River, where dams to run hydro-electric power plants have been releasing water.
Cotabato Governor Emmylou Mendoza has already asked the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) to make representations with the National Power Corporation (Napocor), which runs the hydro-power plants, to coordinate with local governments about their plans to release water from their dams. – Rappler.com