KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/18 September) — A least 30 families were displaced while 13 houses were partially damaged after flashfloods and landslides hit an upland village here over the weekend.
Cyrus Urbano, city administrator, said Monday residents in portion of Barangay Saravia were forced to leave their homes due to a series of floods and landslides, which came following hours of heavy rains.
He said the affected areas were hillside and riverside communities in Sitios Cabuling, Dungan Lahek and old El Gawel, and Purok Crismus.
The initial evacuation was reported on Friday night in upland portions of Sitio Dungan Lahek and Cabuling, where three residents were confirmed injured, he said.
On Sunday night, several residents situated in the lowland portions of Cabuling were also forced to evacuate due to severe flooding.
“Our assessments and validations are currently ongoing, and we have provided initial relief assistance to the affected residents,” he said in a radio interview.
Aside from the city government, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of South Cotabato has delivered relief goods to the affected families.
Urbano, who heads the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said they also sent a backhoe to assist the clearing operations in the affected areas.
Gregorio Presga, Saravia barangay chair, said residents in lower portions of Sitio Cabuling evacuated at past 7 p.m. on Sunday due to the swelling of a creek traversing the area.
He said huge volumes of floodwaters from the upland portions of the creek flowed to the lower parts of Cabuling as a result of the clearing operations.
“After the clearing, the floodwaters exited towards communities in the lowland areas,” Presga said.
Aside from the floods in lower Sitio Cabuling, he said a house was also damaged due to another landslide on Sunday afternoon in Purok Crismus.
Citing their assessment, Presga said a total of 12 houses sustained partial damages as a result of the floods and landslides.
He said six of these were situated in Sitio Dungan Lahek, six in Sito Cabuling and one in Purok Crismus. (MindaNews)