5 killed in SCotabato flashfloods, landslides

(Updated 11:45 pm) At least five people, including two babies, were killed after landslides and flash floods caused by heavy rains hit Koronadal City and Tupi town in South Cotabato province Friday night. The National Disaster Coordinating Council also reported seven were injured in the incidents, which occurred at 6 p.m. Friday. NDCC said the landslide and floods hit Sitio Acub in San Isidro village in Koronadal City; and Purok 9-A and Purok 1 in Poblacion village and Sitio Tucalabong Crossing Rubber in Tupi town, South Cotabato. It identified the fatalities as Anita Patricio, 28; Rene Boy Patricio, 10 months old; Micyla Patricio, 4; and Linday Eres, 80, all of Sitio Acub in San Isidro village in Koronadal City. Four-month-old Aira May Cabil, who was initially reported missing, was confirmed dead as of 5 p.m. Reported injured were Lito Sulan, 28; Aileen Mae Tony, 21; Eris Ricardo Tacoyo, 18; Virginia Esmenio, 33; Ronelo Cabil, 20; Leslie Patricio, 10, of San Isidro village in Koronadal; and JM Valenzuela, 6, of Purok 9-A in Poblacion village in Tupi, South Cotabato. "Posibleng drowning [ang dahilan ng pagkamatay] kasi dinaanan yung bahay nila ng tubig … sa paanan ng bundok sila naka-locate. Yung riverbanks, dun dumaan yung malaking tubig so inabot yung mga bahay," explained Chief Inspector Joman Alexis Yap of the Central Mindanao regional police. (Drowning is the possible cause of death because the water swept through their houses … they were located at the foot of the mountain. The floodwaters coursed through the riverbanks, so got to the houses.) Yap said it was unlikely that the floods were triggered by denuded forests, adding that authorities are still trying to determine the cause. "Wala kaming nakikitang kalbo. May chinop ba na trees, wala. Mapuno rin siya," he said. (We don’t see denuded areas there. Do we see chopped trees? None. There remain a lot of trees.) "Nung nag-subside iyong tubig, nakita na lang sila … na-recover na lang sila sa mga side ng riverbank," Yap said. (When the flood subsided, we found and recovered their bodies along the riverbank.) The NDCC said the flash floods and landslides also affected 168 families or 768 people. Five of 45 families of Sitio Tucalabong Crossing Rubber in Tupi were evacuated to the local day care center. The 44 affected families of Sitio Acub were brought to the Bacongco Elementary School in San Isidro village in Koronadal City. Authorities have already deployed a team to control traffic congestion in affected areas and to clear the roads of debris and fallen trees. Medical officers from the regional health office have likewise trooped to the evacuation centers to attend to the sick. Local environment officials advised the affected families to remain in evacuation centers for at least one week until their areas could be declared safe.—Mark D. Merueñas/JV, GMANews.TV