GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 6 June) – Five houses were reported damaged as flashfloods spawned by torrential rains swept portions of Sarangani province and this city on Wednesday afternoon.
The floods hit portions of Malungon town and several barangays here after over two hours of heavy rains triggered by localized thunderstorms and the Intertropical Convergence Zone.
Arnel Pingque, operations head of the Malungon Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said late Wednesday afternoon the rains caused a creek in Barangay Malandag to swell, affecting nearby communities.
He said a house in Sitio Lamcanal owned by the Ignas family was totally destroyed after being swept by rushing floodwaters at the height of the rains around 2:45 p.m.
Four other nearby houses, all made with light materials, owned by the Mayunggi and Tango families sustained partial damages as a result of the incident, he said.
Citing witnesses, Pingque said several members of the Ignas family, which included three children, were nearly trapped inside their house at the height of the floods.
The family was safely rescued by their neighbors by destroying the window of their room, he said.
“The floodwaters were quite high at that time and we did not even dare to cross the creek for safety reasons,” Pingque said in an interview over a local television station.
Pingque said they provided the affected residents, who are currently staying with their relatives, with food packs and other relief items.
Citing their monitoring, he said the floods affected several other communities in Malandag, including its public elementary school.
He said they inspected other flood and landslide-prone areas within the municipality but there were no recorded damages.
In this city, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office also recorded flooding in Barangay Sinawal and the neighboring areas due to the heavy rains. (MindaNews)