Flash flood leaves 2 dead, P30-M property loss in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY — A 60-year-old man and his grandson drowned and some P30 million worth of property was washed away by floodwaters spawned by torrential rains, that swept through the low-lying Maguindanao town of Datu Odin Sinsuat the other day.

Lita Enok, director of the Office of Civil Defense in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said rescue workers were still looking for the bodies of the two victims whose dwelling, made of light materials, was washed away in Barangay Dalican.

Citing initial feedback, Enok said the flash flood affected 1,875 Muslim families and destroyed at least 50 houses, mostly shanties of people displaced in recent military-rebel hostilities.

Quoting residents, Enok said, "There was a sudden, very strong gush of water from the severely denuded mountain ranges to their west, so fast that all they could do was run for their lives, saving nothing but the clothes they were wearing."

Enok said portions of the fence of the state-run Mindanao State University (MSU), also in Barangay Dalican, and at least 2.5 kilometers of farm-to-market roads were damaged.

Floodwaters also inundated the MSU campus, destroying some P5 million worth of office equipment, such as copying machines and computers.

Datu Lester Sinsuat, a councilor of Datu Odin Sinsuat, said they have provided food and other vital provisions to the flood victims.

But he said they need help from the provincial and national governments.

"The situation would deteriorate if we cannot get help from concerned national agencies," he said.

Local officials have blamed the wanton cutting of trees at the mountain boundary of Datu Odin Sinsuat and North Upi, also in Maguindanao, for the flash flood that wreaked damage in Barangay Dalican.