Heavy rains destroy rice crops, other staples in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY , Philippines  – Heavy rains the past three days again swelled big rivers criss-crossing Maguindanao, inundating more than 30,000 hectares of rice lands in low-lying areas and forcing thousands to evacuate to higher grounds.

Engineer Norie Unas, provincial administrator of Maguindanao, said worst hit by floods are the towns of Sultan Kudarat, and the neighboring Kabuntalan and Northern Kabuntalan, all in the first district of the province.

Portions of the Cotabato-Davao Highway in Sultan Kudarat, located at the border of Maguindanao and Cotabato City, have also been inundated, stranding hundreds of commuters.

Operatives of the Sultan Kudarat municipal police and the Army’s 603rd Brigade have been deployed at flooded portions of the highway to help relocate affected residents to higher grounds.

“This is the third flood to hit these areas in just three months,” Unas said.

The social welfare and health departments of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have fielded dozens of relief workers to attend to the needs of evacuees from the flooded areas.

Low-lying villages in North Cotabato’s Pigkawayan and Libungan towns have also been flooded, according to local government officials.

The municipal government of Pigkawayan has closed to traffic several portions of a national highway linking the town to Cotabato City and nearby towns in North Cotabato.