KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/ 26 October)—Flashfloods spawned by typhoon “Ofel” killed two persons, including a 70-year old woman, in Tulunan, North Cotabato on Thursday, officials said on Friday.
Another one remained missing as of Friday afternoon.
Sr. Insp. Ronnie Cordero, chief of the Tulunan police, identified the fatality as Delia Katel, 70, of Sitio Sambulawan, Barangay Bacung in Tulunan.
Rampaging waters from the swollen Tulunan River washed away Katel when she tried to flee her house, Cordero said.
At least 30 houses in Barangay Bacung, mostly made of light materials, were also damaged by floodwaters brought by the torrential rains.
At around 7: 30 a.m. Friday, the dead body of Bonifacio Karan, a former kagawad of Barangay Bacung, was found hanging by a tree in the area, said Cesar Maile, a member of the village council.
Karan was reported missing along with John Rey Barrientos on Thursday afternoon after floodwaters swept the village.
Rescuers were still searching for Barrientos.
Social welfare employees in Tulunan town have been dispatched to the area to distribute relief items to flood victims, according to Cordero.
Waist-high floodwaters submerged rice and corn fields and houses in nearby villages in Tulunan, reports said.
The Tulunan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council has yet to release a report on the damage caused by the flashfloods.
Typhoon Ofel brought heavy rains in several parts of Mindanao, including North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat. (Malu Cadelina Manar/MindaNews)
