COTABATO CITY: Rescue teams in Maguindanao are bracing for more floods from Tropical Storm “Vinta” (international name; Tembin) even after it left the Philippines early Sunday, authorities said. Lynette Estandarte, provincial budget officer and head of People’s Medical Team, said the province was continuously monitoring the affected towns and other flood-prone areas in low-lying areas. “So far, normal naman ang ibang areas [other areas are normal],” Estandarte said. Maguindanao province is where Asia’s largest marshland, the Liguasan Marsh, a catch basin of water from rivers of Rio Grande de Mindanao coming from North Cotabato, Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur and other nearby provinces, are located. In North Cotabato, which is near Maguindanao and which shares the Liguasan Marsh, floods have beenrecorded in Pikit and Kabacan since Saturday, a day after Typhoon Vinta struck other parts of Mindanao.

Source: Manila Times December 24, 2017 05:37 UTC