Floods hit tremor-stricken towns in Sarangani

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Rampaging flashfloods on Saturday, June 13, swept through towns in Sarangani that were badly devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that jolted the province five days before.

Local officials reported on Sunday that the flashfloods that hit Sarangani’s seaside Maasim town, the epicenter of Monday’s strong tremor that shook Central Mindanao and also affected the Zamboanga peninsula and Regions 11 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, were preceded by recurring heavy downpours in the province, which lasted for about four hours.

Shallow rivers crisscrossing interior areas in other towns in Sarangani, in General Santos, most affected by Monday’s earthquake, and in South Cotabato province also overflowed after the heavy rains, according to local officials.

The earthquake last Monday in the Soccsksargen area, comprising Region 12’s South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces and General Santos City, damaged 609 big buildings, houses, classrooms and other infrastructures.

Local government units in the Soccsksargen area, officials of the Philippine Information Agency 12 and the Office of the Civil Defense 12 had separately informed reporters that Monday's 7.8 Magnitude tremor, which lasted for about two minutes, affected 73,436 families, many of them now in evacuation sites and makeshift shelters.

They are being provided with relief support and post calamity mitigation interventions by state line agencies, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development 12, the Police Regional Office 12, the Bureau of Fire Protection 12 and soldiers from the Army’s 6th and 10th Infantry Divisions.

The flashfloods on Saturday in Sarangani destroyed a bridge at a stretch of a highway in Barangay Lumasal in Maasim. It also reportedly prompted villagers in enclaves along rivers to relocate to highlands nearby.

Radio reports stated that policemen and soldiers were immediately dispatched by Region 12’s police director, Brig. Gen. Alan Manibog, and Army Major Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, to the areas where Saturday's flashfloods swept through to support emergency response operations of local officials.

South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., chairperson of the Regional Peace and Order Council 12, was quoted in Sunday’s radio reports as thanking PRO 12,  the 6th ID and the Army’s 10th ID, under Major Gen. Alvin V. Luzon, for supporting the relief operations of local executives for their constituents affected by Monday’s earthquake and the flashfloods on Saturday.