Report: 2 missing, 23K displaced in Maguindanao floods

Two residents were reported missing while 23,000 others were displaced due to floods in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, even as the state weather agency forecast more rains over the country Friday. Radio dzXL reported that most of the 23,000 displaced residents were from Sultan Kudarat town. It said that as of Friday, two people have been reported missing after trying to cross the river amid heavy rains. The report quoted Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu as saying that those displaced fled after floods entered their houses. Local authorities are now taking care of the residents in evacuation centers, the same report added. Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said an inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) will bring rains mainly over the Visayas and Mindanao. PAGASA said southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms with the rest of the country having partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening. — RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV