Thousands displaced by floods in Maguindanao del Sur

COTABATO CITY — Dozens of low-lying barangays in five towns of Maguindanao del Sur were inundated following heavy downpours in the surrounding mountain ranges since last week.

Officials of the Office of Civil Defense-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Ministry of Social Services and Development-BARMM told reporters on Tuesday, May 20, that more than 7,000 families were affected by the floods that swept through agricultural enclaves in  Datu Abdullah Sangki, Shariff Aguak, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Datu Piang and Datu Salibo towns.

The five towns are crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with swamps that connect to the 220,000-hectare Ligawasan Delta, a catch basin for more than a dozen large rivers that spring from hinterlands in Maguindanao del Sur, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Cotabato and Bukidnon provinces. 

Joel Mamon, director of OCD-BARMM, said their tally of affected families, as relayed by LGUs, had reached 6,023 as of Monday afternoon, affecting a total of 34,187 individuals, including children and the elderly.

“These figures are based on initial statistics from affected local government units,”  Mamon said. 

Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulrauf Macacua told reporters on Tuesday that he has directed their social services minister, Raissa Jajurie, to embark on extensive relief missions in the flood-stricken towns. 

“We have resources for that,” Macacua said.