18 Lanao Sur, M’guindanao towns placed under state of calamity

Marawi City — At least 12 municipalities in Maguindanao and six others in Lanao del Sur have been declared as calamity areas due to the destruction caused by flood and landslides triggered by tropical storm "Karen" last week.

Bainon Karon, social welfare secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said some 20,000 evacuees from the 18 municipalities are now receiving relief assistance from the local, regional and national governments.

The evacuees are housed in several school buildings in the affected areas.

Engineer Mamintal Adiong, Lanao del Sur provincial engineer, said mud and boulders have been cleared from portions of the Don Narciso Highway in Pualas, Calanogas and Ganassi towns.

Also cleared of mudslides were roads in Bayang, Lumbatan and Madamba towns.

At least eight hectares planted to durian, 10 hectares to cassava, seven hectares to corn and two hectares to banana were initially reported as having been destroyed in the six affected Lanao del Sur towns, Adiong said.

Meanwhile, Tamparan Mayor Topaan Disomimba, former president of the Lanao del Sur League of Municipalities, urged concerned government agencies to look into the health situation in the evacuation centers.