Floods swamp 18 towns in C. Mindanao

COTABATO CITY - Recent heavy downpours have swelled big rivers criss-crossing Central Mindanao, flooding 18 towns in the region and destroying millions of pesos worth of har-vestable palay and corn crops.

Zaida Rinsulat, North Cotabato's chief social welfare officer, said that in her area alone, 78 barangays have been hit by floods, spawned by heavy rains in the hinterlands from where hundreds of rivers spring, draining downstream to low-lying areas in the province.

Rinsulat, in a report to North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol, said that of the flooded barangays, 29 are in the municipality of Pikit, 15 in Midsayap and 16 in the towns of Mlang, Kabacan, Tulunan and Carmen.

"Initially, we have released 1,740 bags of cereals to the affected villagers as part of the relief work," Rinsulat said.

In Maguindanao, knee-deep floodwaters have swamped some 20,000 hectares of rice and corn farms, according to provincial agriculturist Salik Panalunsong.

"Based on initial feedback, some of the damaged crops were due for harvest," Panalunsong told The STAR.

Panalunsong said among those flooded in Maguindanao are dozens of low-lying barangays in Pagalungan, Datu Paglas, Ampa-tuan, Talayan, Sultan sa Barongis, Kabacan, Buluan and Datu Odin Sinsuat towns.

In South Cotabato, the floods that hit the towns of Banga, Surallah and Tiboli also destroyed millions of pesos worth of crops, according to a report by Catholic FM station dxOM.

The floods, the report said, swept away a bridge connecting farming communities in Banga to the town proper. - With Allen Estabillo