Maguindanao under state of calamity due to floods

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines  – The provincial board yesterday declared a state of calamity in this province as floodwaters spawned by incessant rains submerged 26 of the province’s 36 towns.

Bobby Katambak, a senior member of the provincial board, said the declaration will hasten the release of funds for relief work in the flooded towns.

The Maguindanao Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the floods affected 30,560 families, or a total of 150, 476 persons.

Katambak said the office of Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu has been providing food rations to the flood victims since Monday.

Mangudadatu said he would also mobilize a medical team to help attend to the needs of the flood victims.

“I thank the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for acting promptly on the need to declare the flooded towns in Maguindanao under state of calamity,” the governor told The STAR while supervising the repacking of relief supplies at his office in Buluan town.

A four-year-old Teduray child, Ranin Toniakao, died last weekend during a landslide in Blensong District in North Upi after two days of heavy rains.

Toniakao’s twin sister, Reina Mae, who fractured her leg, is confined at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center.