Floods submerge Cotabato City’s 18 villages

COTABATO
CITY – Eighteen of Cotabato City’s 37 villages have been under
water since Wednesday due to torrential rains affecting the SOCCSKSARGEN and Maguindanao,
officials said.

Mayor
Cynthia Guiani Sayadi has ordered all village officials to closely monitor the
water level of the villages, mostly located on the eastern part of the city
facing Maguindanao province.

Sayadi
said 11 public schools have been flooded and classes have been suspended
Thursday. About
200 villages in Maguindanao’s 36 municipalities are also underwater brought
about by the inter-tropical convergence zone affected southern Mindanao. The
floods here come from Maguindanao because we served as catch basin of floods
from the Liguasan marshland, Sayadi said during meeting with local and village
officials that she posted live on Facebook to reach more people.
I
appealed to residents residing beside the rivers and tributaries criss-crossing
the city to evacuate, especially the elders and pregnant mothers, Sayadi said
in her message to city residents.
Flooded
villages are Barangay Poblacion Mother, Poblacion 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9,
Barangay Rosary Heights 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9, Barangay Tamontaka Mother, Tamontaka
2, 3, 4, 5, and Barangay Bagua 3 with a total affected families of about
12,000.
Sayadi
said members of the city disaster risk reduction and management council and
other concerned government agencies are now working to ensure nobody is harmed
and that no properties will be damaged by the unfolding calamity. We
don’t want something bad happening to our people when we have all the
opportunity to respond, Sayadi said, adding barangay disaster units must act.
We
are closely monitoring the water level situation, we have our emergency food
assistance ready, she added.
Cotabato
City, situated in the middle of Rio Grande de Mindanao and Tamontaka River,
served as gateway of flood water from upstream reaching up to the borders of
Maguindanao with North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

Even
if it does not rain in the city and bad weather condition is happening in South
Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato, the city will
experience flooding, environment officials said.It is
because the water from the marshland will find its way to the Moro Gulf via Cotabato
City’s low lying villages.
Worst,
water level could go as high as waist level if sea water level rises as flood
water rushes downstream.
One
of the recent worst floods that hit the city was in 2011 when flood water
submerged Notre Dame University compound and the communities surrounding
it. Even Quezon Avenue at the heart of Cotabato
City and supermarket area were underwater.
City
officials hope it will not happen again but flood water continue to rise.Floods
also hit the low lying villages of Midsayap, Pigcawayan, Libungan, Aleosan,
Pikit, Kabacan, Matalam, Mlang and Tulunan, all facing Liguasan marshland.Sayadi also announced that classes have been suspended in the following schoolsand -DIOCOLANO ELEM. SCHOOL-DATU KALANTUNGAN SEMA-MB MOHAMMADALI ELEM SCHOOL-PAGALAMATAN ELEM SCHOOL-USMAN BAUNGA ELEM SCHOOL-MUAMAD ELEM. SCHOOL-J. MARQUEZ ELEM SCHOOL-J. MARQUEZ NHS-DATU SIANG ELEM. SCHOOLNOTRE DAME VILLAGE HIGH SCHOOL - SHIFTING OF CLASS SCHEDULES WILL BE IMPLEMENTED. The image below shows the main gate of Notre Dame University in this 2011 file photo of Cotabato City floods. (contributed) Image may contain outdoor sand//scontent.fmnl4-5.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20140033_1804256996267376_4496195500947937731_n.jpg?oh=6c0a1e53fc60375eb57f9679f9e3e9a9andampoe=59F62C60 A road in Notre Dame Village. (Photo by Len-Len) Image may contain tree plant outdoor water and nature sand//scontent.fmnl4-5.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/20245877_10212115436058649_3315883421726178474_n.jpg?oh=b7c61254387c0495a7852908c4c899f5andampoe=59F75331