North Cotabato villages under water

Submerged villages of North Cotabato province in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 29, 2009) – Flash floods brought about by heavy rains since last week have submerged many areas in North Cotabato province in Mindanao.

More than 2,000 families were affected by the flooding in the towns of Pigcawayan, Libungan and Midsayap. Roads were impassable and rice paddies destroyed by rampaging flood water, although there had been no reports of casualties.

Weather experts said southwest monsoon are affecting Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration on Wednesday said Southern Luzon and Visayas and Mindanao will continue to have rain showers and thunderstorms becoming widespread rains over the western sections of those areas which may trigger flash floods and landslides.

It also warned fishing boats and small sea crafts not to sail out because of huge waves and strong winds. (Geo Solmerano)

Floods submerged Maguindanao villages

Days of heavy rains since Sunday, July 26, 2009 have flooded many villages in Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

SULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 27, 2009) – Heavy rains the past days have flooded many areas in the Muslim province of Maguindanao in the southern Philippines.

Thousands of families have been affected by flash floods in Maguindanao, one of the poorest provinces in the country; and also in Cotabato City.

Roads in Sultan Kudarat were impassable and many residents were spotted on roof of their houses. Others evacuated to safer areas.

Villagers complained of lack of food and have appealed for government food aid. (With a report from Mark Navales)

Photo: Floods submerged Mindanao farms

Hundreds of families evacuate from their flooded villages after the Allah River overflowed in the town of Isulan in Sultan Kudarat province since Tuesday, January 27, 2009. At least 5 people have died from rampaging flood waters triggered by continuous rain in Mindanao.

Farmers in North Cotabato also are forced to harvest their wet crops.

(Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

9 Children Swept Away By Flood In Mindanao; 6 Rescued

Two boys stand by the riverbank where three children are missing after floodwater swept them away Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008 in the southern Philippine city of Kidapawan. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geonarri Solmerano)

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 9, 2008) – Three children were missing after flush flood swept them away on Sunday in Kidapawan City in Mindanao, police said.

Police said the trio was part of a group of nine children swept by rampaging floodwaters on a river near the border of Makilala town. The six children were rescued, but the three other, all girls, had not been found.

The children were taking photographs when floodwaters as high as 6 feet swept them away in the Nuangan river.

Police did not release the names of the victims and those rescued, but a report by the television giant GMA 7 identified the missing as Precion Taeza, Kridan May de la Cruz and Janely Antipuesto.

Those who survived were Joyce Villaceran, Catherine Canada, Chariz Jane Franco, Sheila Grace Callabroso, Aprilyn Mansuen and Claudine Baccera. (Geonarri Solmerano)

Cotabato City Under Water Again

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 18, 2008) – One teenager had drowned in a river as torrential rains the past week submerged many villages in the southern Filipino city of Cotabato, officials said Thursday.

Officials said thousands of families were forced to evacuate to safer grounds, many in makeshift shelters, after the rivers overflowed. More than a dozen villages have been submerged in floodwater after lilies clogged the rivers.

Local social workers have distributed relief goods to more than 400 families and their supplies were running out, officials said. Heavy rains last also flooded many parts of the city. (With a report from mark Navales)

Flash Floods Trap Villagers In Zamboanga City; Tremor Jolts Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 11, 2008) – Monsoon rains triggered flash floods on Thursday on a remote village in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, officials said.

An earthquake also jolted Zamboanga City and other parts of Mindanao on Thursday morning, although there were no reports of damages to structures. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the tremor originated from Indonesia and felt in Mindanao.

But officials said the rampaging flood waters in Bunguiao trapped villagers. There have been no reports of injuries or casualties, however, seven houses were already under water and that roads are impassable, said Nestor Atilano, the village chieftain.

“The flood water is rising and roads have become impassable. The flash flood was triggered by days of continuous rains,” Atilano said.

It was not immediately known how many families were displaced by the flood.

Geologists also discovered a huge crack on the village of Tulungatung also in Zamboanga City and warned residents to stay away from the area because of possible landslide.

The Mine and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources immediately declared the area around it as “prohibited zone.”

Villagers near the crack had been evacuated to safer areas and geologists were conducting further studies on the fissure. Residents have reported strange noise every time rain waters sip through the crack.

In July, a portion of the Zamboanga City highway collapsed and geologists blamed weeks of torrential rains that eroded the soil and led to the collapse of the road. A landslide in June in Zamboanga City also killed a pregnant mother and her child in the hillside village of Maasin during the typhoon Fengshen.

Last week, at least two dozen people were buried alive after two landslides struck the mountain town of Maco in Compostela Valley province. (Mindanao Examiner)

Work Still Continue To Unclog Mindanao Rivers

Photos released by the Mindanao Tulong Bakwet show villagers walking near a river in Cotabato City in Mindanao on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. More than 3,700 families are affected by flooding in Cotabato City, Shariff Kabunsuan and Maguindanao provinces.

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 15, 2008) – Work still continue Tuesday to unclog rivers in Mindanao of tons of lilies washed away by typhoon in the southern Philippines.

The Mindanao Emergency Response Network-Central Mindanao and Mindanao Tulong Bakwet reported that dredging is going on to free the Rio Grande River of lilies to help control the flooding in Cotabato City, Shariff Kabunsuan and Maguindanao provinces.

More than 3,700 families have been affected by the flood and are now staying in temporary shelters in Cotabato City, where at least 27 villages have been under water since last week.

The groups provided aid to evacuees. (Sittie Rajabia S. Monato / Mindanao Tulong Bakwet)

Photo: North Cotabato Flood

Scenes from around North Cotabato where torrential rains flooded many areas in North Cotabato province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Photo: Cotabato City Is Under Water

An aerial view from a Philippine Air Force helicopter of TOG 12 under Colonel Dionisio Robles as it conducts a search and rescue operation Saturday, July 5, 2008 in Cotabato City on the southern island of Mindanao where 17 villages are underwater. More than a thousand people have been displaced by flash floods and are now staying in public schools used as temporary shelters. The floods also destroyed farmlands and fish cages. At least 5 people died from flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains the past days. Rivers, clogged with water lilies, also overflowed. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Floods, Rains Leave Trail Of Destruction In Zamboanga

Residents in Zamboanga City inspect Sunday 08 Oct 2006 their villages as torrential rains leaves a trail of destruction in Zamboanga Peninsula. (Darwin Wee / Uly Israel)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Darwin Wee / 08 Oct) – Torrential rains have flooded many villages and affected thousands of people as it ravaged the southern Filipino port city of Zamboanga.

Heavy rains the past days have flooded rice paddies and rivers overflowed submerging many villages. Residents affected by flashfloods have sought safe refuge in government schools across Zamboanga as local officials held emergency session on Sunday to draw up plans to help those affected by the inter-tropical convergence zone.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regional office in Zamboanga City said floods also affected many areas in the Zamboanga Peninsula, which comprises the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay.

It said some P14 million in seaweeds and aquaculture farms were damaged by the rain. "These are all initial reports and we are afraid that there are more damages in seaweed farms across the Peninsula because of the bad weather,” BFAR's chief regulatory division senior aqua-culturist Francisco A. Cadiz told the Mindanao Examiner.

"We are still waiting for the reports of our satellite offices in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay," Mr. Cadiz who is also the current Fisheries officer-in-charge, said.

He said more than 1,000 hectares of seaweed farms weredestroyed by the rain in Zamboanga City alone, particularly in the villages of Tumaga, Ayala, Culianan, Manicahan, Curuan, and Vitali. Cages and fences of at least 700 hectares of fish pans were also destroyed. Over P3 million were lost.

About 3,000 seaweed and fish pan growers were affected by floods and rain.

"As far, as I could remember this is the worst and costly damage toour fishermen, and seaweed growers," he said. (Mindanao Examiner)