Maguindanao Floods Leave Thousands Homeless

Flash floods in Maguindanao province in South RP leave more than 10,000 families homeless. (Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY (Mark Navales / 17 Aug) Tens of thousands of people were left homeless in at least three towns in the southern Philippines ravaged by flash floods and days of heavy rains, officials said Thursday.

Officials said one village in Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region was also hit by a tornado. The town of Sultan Kudarat was the worst hit by flash flood brought about by swelling rivers and continuous rains since last week.

A child also died in one evacuation center because of diseases, according to social workers. The lack of food and medicines aggravated the poor and unsanitary condition in many refugee shelters in Maguindanao.

In Sultan Kudarat, more than 8,000 families in the villages of Gang, Senditan, Limbo, Banubo, Katuli, Salimbao, Molaog, Kalsada, Bulalo and Makaguiling were affected by flash flood as high as 1.3 meters.

More than 1,000 families in eight villages -- Tabungao, Milib, Sapakan, Dapantis, Baital, Pasikot, Tabungao and Panadtaban -- were also displaced by floods in the town of Rajah Buaya.

Tornado also hit the village of Litayen in Bongo island off Maguindanao and destroyed at least three dozen thatched houses and affected more than 50 families, officials said.

Fish ponds were also flooded in Parang town in the province after the Rio Grande overflowed. It also flooded the Narciso Ramos Highway connecting Matanog and Kapatagan towns. Officials said the flood reached as high as 1.6 meters.

Social Welfare Secy. Ruby Sahali-Tan blamed illegal logging and the denuded forests in Maguindanao for the flash flood. "This illegal logging aggravated the situation in Maguindanao," she said.