DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 4 February) — The Bongao Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in Tawi-Tawi said damaged footbridges hampered rescue efforts in the fire that damaged 1,000 houses in the coastal village of Barangay Lamion late Tuesday.

A fire broke out at 10:09 p.m. on Tuesday and was declared fire out almost four hours later by the Bongao Central Fire Station, according to a report prepared by Al-Gibran I. Amilasan, municipal DRRM officer.

The report said over 1,000 families were affected in the fire.

Amilasan said 1,000 meters of footbridges were damaged during the incident, “making the rescue and fire operations difficult.”

He said the “fire worsened due to strong winds, which made the fire spread rapidly among houses.”

No deaths had been reported as of the latest monitoring.

The DRRMO report said 1,138 families have sought shelter in three evacuation centers — Amilbahar Gym of the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (616 families), at the Integrated Laboratory School covered court also at MSU (400), and at the provincial quarantine area (122).

Government and humanitarian responders have ramped up assistance in these sites.

The Philippine Red Cross has deployed teams to the evacuation camps to help with camp coordination and camp management.

Amilasan said that water trucks were deployed to the evacuation centers by the Tawi-Tawi Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. Private water trucks helped as well, he added.

To maintain sanitation in crowded evacuation centers, the Municipal Ecological Solid Waste Management Team has also been deployed to manage waste disposal, Amilasan said.

Authorities have yet to determine the cause of the fire. (Allizah Keziah Manulat / MindaNews)