Floods displace Mindoro residents

Batangas City, Philippines – Thousands of families have been displaced in Sablayan and other towns in Occidental Mindoro after heavy monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides, leaving at least one fatality, civil defense and police officials said.

Allan Virtucio, operations chief of the Office of the Civil Defense in Region 4-B based here, said at least 6,416 families or 26,321 people were evacuated from 14 barangays in Sablayan town.

Virtucio said parts of the national highway connecting the towns of Abra de Ilog, San Jose, Rizal, Magsaysay, Mamburao and Sta. Cruz were closed to vehicular traffic yesterday due to landslides.

Meanwhile, Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Talino-Mendoza has sought help from national agencies and business groups for the flood victims in her province.

“We are appealing for any and all forms of humanitarian assistance. Besides food and potable water, we could use extra supplies of blankets, medicine as well as articles for personal hygiene, especially for seniors, pregnant women and children,” she said.

Cotabato (formerly North Cotabato) has been under a state of calamity since last week after flash floods swamped 15 of its 17 towns, destroying some 2,500 hectares of farmland and an estimated P500 million worth of palay and corn crops. – Arnell Ozaeta, Jess Diaz and John Unson