13 dead, 8 missing in Mindanao landslides

ROADSIDE PERIL Heavy equipment clears debris from a landslide-hit road in Barangay Kapatan, Glan, Sarangani, after heavy rains from Typhoon “Inday” (international name: Bavi) and the enhanced southwest monsoon triggered deadly landslides that killed eight people in nearby Malapatan and five others Calanogas, Lanao del Sur, on Friday. —PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTIN FERNANDO BERNAD JR./SARANGANI PIO

KORONADAL CITY — At least 13 people were killed and eight others remained missing after separate landslides triggered by heavy rains from Typhoon Inday (international name: Bavi) and the enhanced southwest monsoon struck parts of Mindanao on Friday, as flooding affected more than 18,000 families across the Bangsamoro region.

Eight people died and two remained missing after a landslide buried two houses in Sitio Blesong Fundao, Barangay Poblacion, Malapatan, Sarangani, before dawn on Friday.

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Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) chief Mark Christopher Quiño said the houses, occupied by the Maladian and Yaton families, were built along a mountainside.

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Initially, 10 people were reported trapped beneath the debris. Seven victims were recovered from the site, while a 31-year-old survivor later died in the hospital, raising the death toll to eight.

Malapatan Mayor Salway Sumbo Jr. said the landslide occurred between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.

Authorities said continuous heavy rains since Thursday triggered the collapse. Officials also believe the ground had been weakened by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao on June 8.

Flooding also hit the villages of Sapu Padidu, Sapu Masla, and Libi on Thursday, forcing 115 families to seek temporary shelter in three evacuation centers.

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In Calanogas, Lanao del Sur, another landslide struck Barangay Ngingir at around 2:30 a.m., killing five people and leaving six others missing.

Collapsed hillside

Capt. Steffi Salanguit, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said heavy rains brought by Inday caused a large section of a hillside to collapse, burying several houses.

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Police and emergency responders rushed to the area but were forced to walk about 10 kilometers after roads became impassable, reaching the site at around 6 a.m.

Authorities identified the fatalities as Norhaya Camar, Mohsin Juhary, Naifa Mansawi, Akmad Camar, and Norhana Ali.

Two people were rescued with injuries, including one whose identity has yet to be established.

Search and rescue operations continued Friday for the six missing: Mujahid Abdulmajid, Mobairah Abdulrashid, Norhasan Abdulrashid, Lilikan Arab, Norlin Ali, and Norhanima Ali.

As of noon Friday, the BARMM Ministry of Social Services and Development reported that 18,058 families in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Maguindanao del Sur had been affected by the combined effects of Typhoon Inday and the southwest monsoon. Of these, 3,947 families, or 19,735 individuals, were staying in 22 evacuation centers.

RESCUE OPERATION Emergency responders ferry residents aboard an inflatable floater through floodwaters in Talayan, Maguindanao del Sur, as heavy rains brought by Typhoon “Inday” (international name: Bavi) and the enhanced southwest monsoon inundate communities across the province. —PHOTO COURTESY OF TALAYAN MUNICIPAL DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OFFICE

Evacuation

In the Visayas, a total of 1,953 individuals from 664 families in four towns in Negros Occidental were preemptively evacuated as heavy rains brought by Inday and the enhanced southwest monsoon triggered flooding and heightened the threat of lahar flows.

A report from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) as of 11 a.m. Friday said the affected residents came from 11 barangays.

La Castellana town recorded the highest number of evacuees, with 1,104 individuals from 370 families displaced due to the risk of flooding and lahar flows.

In Isabela town, 421 residents from 141 families in three barangays were affected.

The municipality of Pontevedra reported 382 affected individuals from 139 families in five barangays. Of these, 329 individuals from 124 families were staying in nine evacuation centers, while 53 individuals from 15 families were taking shelter outside official evacuation facilities.

Moises Padilla town recorded 46 affected residents from 14 families, with flooding also reported in the municipality.

Meanwhile, in-person classes were suspended across Negros Oriental and in 24 local government units in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, as inclement weather continued to affect the two provinces.

More than 6,100 public schools across 11 regions have suspended in-person classes and shifted to Flexible Learning Options FLO as Inday and the enhanced southwest monsoon continue to disrupt classes nationwide, the Department of Education (DepEd) said.

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In its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service situation report as of 11 a.m. Friday, DepEd said 6,102 public schools had suspended in-person classes, affecting 3.68 million learners and 149,659 teaching and non-teaching personnel in 52 Schools Division Offices. WITH REPORTS FROM CARLA P. GOMEZ AND HAZEL P. VILLA