1,000 displaced in VisMin flash floods

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Up to 1,000 people were forced to evacuate due to flash floods in Cotabato and Negros Occidental over the weekend.

The municipal government of Magpet in Cotabato said heavy rains caused a river to swell and inundated downstream farming villages.

The office of Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza yesterday said up to 700 residents near the Bantac River relocated to upland areas.

Emergency responders have been dispatched to assist the flood victims, Mendoza said.

The flood destroyed up to 200 hectares of corn and orchard farms, according to barangay officials and personnel of the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office.

Meanwhile, in Negros Occidental, up to 300 people were rescued after floodwaters submerged houses in the villages of Sum-ag and Pahanocoy in Bacolod City.

Heavy flooding along Araneta street caused traffic congestion in the southern area of the city.

Irene Bel Ploteña, chief of the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office, said floodings were also reported in the cities of Bago, Cadiz and Sagay in the northern part of the province.