67 draft animals drown in Sultan Mastura flashloods

MAGUINDANAO --- Farmers lost 67 heads of cattle in rampaging floodwaters that swept through barangays in Sultan Mastura, Maguindanao on Saturday.Local officials said many of the farm animals drowned in floodwaters are water buffaloes that Sultan Mastura’s flood-stricken Moro residents used in plowing their rice and corn farms.Farmers in the municipality rely largely on draft animals, such as carabaos and cows, in tilling their lands.Workers of the Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team, most known as HEART, immediately relocated the flood victims to areas far from rivers that overflowed over the weekend due to heavy rains in hinterlands nearby.The HEART is a rapid deployment disaster action contingent of the office of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman.Henry said Hataman has ordered the HEART management to immediately provide relief supplies to the flood-stricken Sultan Mastura residents.Hataman said Monday he has directed the regional agriculture department to assess crop and livestock losses as a result of the flashfloods that low-lying barangays in Sultan Mastura.