Tiboli folk flee Lake Maughan

DAVAO CITY — Residents of Tiboli town in South Cotabato fled to safer grounds after Lake Maughan on top of Mt. Parker was feared to overflow as a result of the powerful earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale that rocked Mindanao last Wednesday dawn.

South Cotabato Governor Daisy Fuentes ordered the evacuation of the Tiboli residents especially after several big cracks were found on the sides of the lake while smoke was also seen coming from it. The area was among the hardest hit by the earthquake particularly since its epicenter was located 135 kilometers west of General Santos City which caused the movement of the offshore Cotabato trench in the Celebes Sea.

At least 12 people in different parts of Mindanao were killed Wednesday when the earthquake struck the entire island. The earthquake also caused damage to properties and infrastructure and several buildings and roads have collapsed.

The governor immediately ordered the evacuation as a precautionary measure after learning lessons from a tragedy in 1995 when there was a massive overflow of Lake Maughan that caused severe damage to local agriculture and claimed several lives.

Fuentes likewise met with local officials of the adjacent provinces to discuss disaster safety management measures should Lake Maughan overflow. — Edith Regalado