COTABATO CITY(Mindanao Examiner / June 18, 2014) – Thousands of villagers were affected by flash floods in Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, authorities said.
At least a dozen towns have been submerged under water after the Rio Grande River overflowed following days of heavy rains. There were no immediate reports of casualties, but the flooding has affected farmlands, mostly rice fields.
Authorities said the areas flooded were the towns of Kabuntalan, Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Sultan sa Barongis, Mamasapano, Datu Salibo, Datu Sangki, Datu Montawal, Rajah Buayan, Ampatuan and Pagalungan, among others.
Maguindanao has been experiencing flash floods every year during the past decades and rhetoric promises of politicians to address the problems only added to the woes of the locals who blamed their leaders for the poor flood system in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)
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