Bukidnon province hit by flash floods

KIDAPAWAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 27, 2011) – Flash floods brought about by heavy rains have forced hundreds of people to flee from their homes in the southern Philippine province of Bukidnon, authorities said Tuesday.

Military rescuers were sent to the province to help evacuate residents who were trapped in their houses. ValenciaCity is the worst hit by the raging floods and the province is under threat by the swelling Pulangi River.

Bukidnon Governor Alex Calingasan said a dam in the province has collapsed due to the amount of water it took since heavy rains began Monday.  

“This is another disaster. Early this morning, water in Pulangi River swelled and we have warned the people to vacate immediately, but it seemed the people did not care and ignored our warning. They are hard-headed. Now we have many people trapped in their houses and rescue efforts are going on,” he said.

He said the military sent three helicopters to help rescue about a thousand people trapped in Valencia City.

“Houses were washed out and many have fled to higher grounds for safety. We still don’t know if there were reports of casualties. This is another catastrophe, I hope this won’t be another Cagayan de Oro or Iligan,” Calingasan said referring to the flash floods brought about by tropical storm Washi that killed over 1,000 people last week.

Weather experts said the heavy rains were cause by the tail of a cold front affecting Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)