Cotabato: Landslides and flooding in southern Philippines killed at least 67 people, according to an official tally, with rescuers racing to save residents of a mountain village that was buried in mud.

Village of Kusiong accounted for many of 50 deaths in area around Datu Odin Sinsuat town, after heavy overnight rain unleashed floods mixed with mud, rocks and fallen trees that buried community, area’s civil defence office said in a statement.

Similar avalanches also struck villages in nearby towns of Datu Blah Sinsuat and Upi, which accounted for 17 more deaths. Eleven people remain missing and 31 were injured, according to official figures. Flash floods from rains wrought by Tropical Storm Nalgae swamped nine mostly rural towns around Cotabato, a city of 300,000 people on Mindanao Island that was also submerged in widespread flooding.

Many residents were caught by surprise as floodwaters rose rapidly before dawn, Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesman and civil defence chief for regional government told AFP. Teams in rubber boats had rescued residents from rooftops in some towns, Sinarimbo said. In recent years, flash floods with mud and debris from largely deforested mountainsides have been among deadliest hazards posed by typhoons in Philippine communities.

Local filmmaker Remar Pablo told AFP he was shooting a beauty pageant in Upi when floodwaters suddenly came in after midnight and forced audience members to flee. A row of cars sat half-submerged on street outside, video footage showed. “We were stranded inside,” said Pablo, who eventually waded through water to get home.

Rescuers carried a baby in a plastic tub as they navigated chest-deep water, a photo posted by provincial police showed.

Published in The Daily National Courier, October, 29 2022

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