Portion of Mindanao river ‘fully cleared’ from water hyacinths

The flooding in Cotabato City has started to subside after water hyacinths blocking the flow of the Rio Grande de Mindanao were “fully cleared" on Sunday, an official said Sunday. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Bureau of Public Information executive director Ali Macabalang said soldiers and volunteers were able to remove all 20 hectares of the plant from the river at 7 a.m. Sunday. “Fully, ‘yung 20-hectare chunk, natanggal na. May mga bagong dumating na water hyacinths kaninang tanghali pero natanggal na rin," he said in a phone interview on Sunday night. He added that local officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had instructed the soldiers and volunteers to stay near the Delta Bridge and be on alert for another build-up of the river-clogging plant. Macabalang likewise said that the weather in the city has already been sunny since Friday afternoon, causing floodwaters to subside. “Napakainit na rito. Mayroon pa rin naming baha pero ‘yung mga dating hanggang waist, ankle-deep na lang," he said. The city information officer likewise said that families staying in evacuation centers have also started returning to their homes after the floodwater has gone done. Classes in all schools in Cotabato City will resume by Monday, he added. President Benigno Aquino III visited last Wednesday the victims of the flooding in Cotabato and ordered the immediate clearing of the water hyacinths under the Delta Bridge. The water-clogging plants, typical in polluted rivers, have caused what officials say as the “worst" flooding in the area for years. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), as of Tuesday, pegged the number of persons affected by the Cotabato flooding to 76,154. - KBK, GMA News