Floods affect 500,000 BARMM residents

COTABATO CITY  – Floods triggered by torrential rains across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), spawned by Typhoon Inday and the southwest monsoon (habagat), have affected at least 500,000 residents in three of the five provinces in the region, officials said on Monday.

Muhammad Farzieh Abutazil, director of Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi), said a total of 103,218 families, or 516,090 individuals, have been affected by widespread flooding that struck the region last week.

Most of the affected families are from the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Lanao del Sur.

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READ: List of flooded areas in Metro Manila on Friday

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Data gathered by BARMM-READi showed that as of July 13, the confirmed death toll remained at seven, five persons were still missing, and five others were injured.

All the fatalities were from Calanogas in Lanao del Sur.

Abutazil said the flooding also affected 328 barangays across the region, with extensive flood damage reported in these communities. At least 5,000 families continue to stay in 37 evacuation centers located in the three mainland Mindanao provinces.

BARMM READi also reported that 33 houses were destroyed, while 114 others sustained partial damage.

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Of the 103,218 affected households, 5,107 families are in 37 evacuation centers in Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

Meanwhile, the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) Lanao del Sur has activated its Health Emergency Alert Reporting System (HEARS) and deployed Emergency Health Response Teams (EHRT) to protect the health and well-being of affected communities.

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Dr. Alinader D. Minalang, head of IPHO-Lanao del Sur, said he immediately ordered the deployment of a quick response team to the affected villages in Calanogas following the landslide that claimed the lives of seven persons.

“It was Friday and we sent a team to help in the emergency health needs of affected families,” Minalang said in a report, adding that even on Saturday and Sunday, health frontliners were on the ground.

Among the affected towns in Lanao del Sur are Balabagan, Calanogas, Kapatagan, Malabang, Masiu, Marogong, Picong, and Sultan Dumalondong.

According to the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD)-Lanao del Sur, most of the affected families are staying with their relatives.

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“No disease outbreaks have been reported as of the latest reporting period,” Minalang said. INQ