SOUTH COTABATO – Intermittent rains that triggered floods and landslides in many towns in this province has left one man dead and millions of damage to properties and infrastructures.
A report made by the South Cotabato Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said that the prolong rains caused by the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) later resulted to flooding along the Allah River in the province.
The heavy rains affected the municipalities of Tboli, Sto. Niño, Lake Sebu amd Surallah.
Leonardo Ballon, chief of the local DRRMO identified the fatality as one Roger Barneso, 44, a resident of Barangay Moloy. He reportedly died after strong floodwaters swept him away in Allah River around 8:00pm on Tuesday.
Ballon narrated the victim and his family were crossing the river from Brgy Dajay through a makeshift bamboo bridge when the motorcycle they were riding suddenly slipped and they fell into the rampaging floodwaters in the Allah river.
He said Roger was carried away by the strong current and eventually drowned while his wife and daughter managed to reach the riverbank.
The victim’s body was retrieved by rescuers and residents the following day at a river in Purok Pag-asa, Barangay Bai Saripinang in Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat.
The flooding, Ballon added, also resulted to the collapsed of a bridge in Barangay Dajay and other similar structures in barangays Buenavista and Centralla.
A concrete dike in Barangay Talahik was also destroyed and government’s engineering units in the area have taken measures to prevent the swelling of floodwaters to nearby communities.
The MDRRMO also reported that the approach of Maculan Bridge in Barangay Lower Maculan also collapsed due to the floods.
The destroyed bridge, which connects Lake Sebu to the towns of Tboli and Surallah, made it impassable affecting the residents of Barangays Upper Maculan, Lower Maculan and Halilan. – PNA
