Flood water from South Cotabato, submerge Maguindanao town

COTABATO CITY - Almost 3,000 families in remote villages of Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao have been underwater after floods from South Cotabato reached the Liguasan marshland Thursday, local disaster officials said.According to Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) about12 barangays were affected and displaced2,913 families as of 4 p.m. Thursday.The floods that submerged low lying villages of Sultan sa Barongis came from the upland towns of Tupi, Tampakan, Norala, Banga and Koronadal City, passing through huge Kapingkong and Ala rivers.Flood water from South Cotabato are expected to reach low lying towns in Maguindanao in two to three days before exiting to the Moro Gulf through Tamontaka River and Rio Grande de Mindanao.No casualty was reported in Sultan sa Barongis, the next town from Lambayong in Sultan Kudarat. Lambayong's four villages were submerged by floods when the Ala river overflowed Wednesday afternoon, displacing thousands of villagers and destroying a hanging bridge.