Woman, 2 kids drown in Sultan Kudarat flash flood

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A 34-year-old mother, her daughter and an eight-year-old boy were drowned in flash floods, spawned by heavy rains, that hit low-lying areas in the adjoining Lebak and Kalamansig towns in Sultan Kudarat province on Friday, May 23.

Local executives and officials of the Lebak Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) told reporters on Saturday, May 24, that the first two fatalities, Maila Pulido and her 12-year-old daughter, Mylene, were residents of Sitio Kitay in Barangay Salaman in Lebak.

Citing accounts of witnesses, personnel of the Lebak MDRRMO and Sultan Kudarat provincial officials said the Pulidos were rushing towards their yard when they noticed the inundation of their surroundings when they got swept away by rampaging floodwaters.

Medics tried, but failed to resuscitate both of them.  Municipal officials had assured to help facilitate their burials.  

Lovely Joy Hallegado, Sultan Kudarat's provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer, also reported on Saturday that an eight-year-old boy, Lawrence Itew, was also drowned in floodwaters while at a river in Barangay Santa Maria in Kalamansig, adjacent to Lebak. 

Hallegado had urged residents of both towns to be watchful of their surroundings if rains shall continue and to ensure their safety from flash floods.