Flashfloods hit Zambo villages

ZAMBOANGA City, Philippines - Flashfloods struck three barangays in this city on Thursday night, wiping out vast rice paddies and displacing hundreds of residents.

The City Social Welfare Office said at least 11 houses were affected and damaged by the rampaging floodwaters in Sitio Manga Bolong in Barangay Bolong, while residents in the two barangays of Lubigan and Bongiao made preemptive evacuation as flood waters went up waist deep.

Disaster response personnel reported to Mayor Isabel Climaco-Salazar that the flood was triggered by incessant rains. They said the floodwaters came sliding down from the mountains and swelled small rivers crisscrossing the affected villages.

The flashfloods struck at around 9 p.m.

Manga Bolong village official said vast tracks of newly-planted rice paddies were swept by the floodwaters.

Salazar immediately directed the social welfare office to extend relief assistance to the affected families. The extend of damage by the floods have yet to be determined by the local government.