A season of tragedy has yet to end for Lanao del Sur and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Barely a few months after the end of the siege and destruction of Marawi City, the province mourned anew after 12 lives were lost as Tropical Storm “Vinta” tore through the area.
ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the region’s Humanitarian and Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) Operation Center in Cotabato City is coordinating with local governments and disaster management councils across the region to assess the impact of the storm.
Lanao del Sur has reported the heaviest damage caused by the storm as of Saturday, Hataman said.
“The siege of Marawi City did not mark the end of the tragedies in Lanao del Sur this 2017. This storm did,” the governor said in a statement.
ARMM Photo
“Please join us in praying for our people in Lanao del Sur, and, if you can, help us continue efforts to help the people of Lanao del Sur as we face this new tragedy. Let us link arms to rebuild what has been broken in the spirit of bayanihan [cooperation] that has always been our strength,” he added.w
ARMM has allocated funds to help the survivors of Vinta, along with deploying personnel and aid since the storm hit late last week. Hataman has also distributed cash assistance of P10,000 to each of the families that have lost loved ones.
Regional officials are also keeping an eye on Basilan province because of continuous heavy rain in the province. So far, reports from the remaining provinces of ARMM, specifically Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, have not been as alarming, the governor said.
“Members and officials of the regional Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team have already been deployed. Relief packs are now being distributed in areas affected by the heavy rains,” Hataman added.
On Saturday, Dec. 23, 12 towns in Lanao del Sur experienced severe flooding and landslides—Balindong, Bubong, Madalum, Tugaya, Bacolod-Kalawi, Madamba, Tamparan, Piagapo, Calanogas, Maguing, Poona Bayabao and Ditsain Ramain, ARMM-HEART said.
The number of reported deaths and missing residents, subject to validation by the Department of Health-ARMM, are in Piagapo (10 deaths), Bacolod-Kalawi (two deaths, one missing), Madalum (four deaths, one missing), Tamparan (one death). Tugaya (two deaths), and Balindong (two deaths).
Three of the 25 villages in Poona Bayabao were under water and reported severe damage to properties, the regional government said, as the town’s provincial road remained impassable. Torrential rains triggered landslides in the towns of Tugaya, Bacolod-Kalawi, and Madalum also led to closed roads.
In Madalum, mounds of earth and debris covered a 200-meter stretch of the road.
“It’s a big challenge to conduct rescue and relief operations since we need to clear the road first,” Hataman said.
The Department of Public Works and Highways-ARMM and Region 10 and the district engineering offices in Lanao del Sur have been clearing the roads and bridges affected by the floods and landslides with support from the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division.