Maguindanao under state of calamity due to floods

COTABATO CITY – Maguindanao’s provincial board placed the entire province under a state of calamity on Wednesday due to floods that submerged 105 villages in at least 13 municipalities.

Maguindanao Vice Governor Bai Ainee Sinsuat said the declaration was recommended by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDDRMO).

Sinsuat said the floods have affected 105 barangays out of Maguindanao’s 508 villages and displaced 46,922 families or 234,610 individuals in 36 towns.

Six towns have earlier been placed by their officials under a state of calamity due to recurring floods brought by heavy rains since the last week of July and early this month.

PDRRMO chief Nasrullah Imam said the affected families are in various evacuation sites while some are in their relatives’ homes in elevated areas.

Crops damage

The declaration also came after disaster and agriculture officials reported more than PHP130 million worth of damage to crops in the province.

The Maguindanao PDRRMO reported that floods have submerged low-lying areas of Northern Kabuntalan, Upper Kabuntalan, Sultan sa Barongis, Datu Piang, Mamasapano, Rajah Buayan, Datu Salibo, Pagalungan, Datu Montawal, Guindulungan, Talayan, Talitay, and Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Also inundated were communities beside the Allah River in Isulan, Bagumbayan, and Esperanza in Sultan Kudarat province.

Ronjamin Maulana, Maguindanao provincial director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said the flooding that began late last month has damaged palay, corn, and other crops.

He estimated damaged palay crops at PHP115.2 million, corn at PHP11.2 million, and vegetables at PHP4.1 million.

“All the damaged crops have no chances of recovery,” Maulana said, adding the inundations also directly affected 1,500 farmers and displaced about 7,000 families across the province. (PNA)