By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY
Two people were killed after incessant rains triggered flashfloods and the evacuation of around 10,000 others in a southern Philippines province, an official announced Friday.
Cynthia Ortega, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chief, told the MindaNews website that flashfloods Wednesday night forced at least 10,000 people to seek refuge at evacuation centers across North Cotabato.
Two people drowned after being swept away by the overflowing waters of the Kabacan river. They included a 14-year-old trying to protect his ducks and chicken in Kabacan town, and a 61-year-old tending to her family’s carabao, Philippine water buffalo, in Arakan town.
Ortega said some houses located along riverbanks had been washed away, while classes at the University of Southern Mindanao were suspended due to flooding on campus.
In Arakan, 300 families living near rivers were ordered to evacuate while a national highway connecting the cities of Kabacan and Carmen was flooded Thursday afternoon.
North Cotabato Governor Emmyloy Talino-Mendoza has ordered the forced evacuation of families living along riverbanks due to rising water levels.
Meanwhile, soldiers from the army’s 6th Infantry Division and provincial government conducted rescue operations.
