Strong winds destroy houses, rice fields

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Up to 82 houses and more than a hundred hectares of rice fields were destroyed by strong winds that battered four villages in Kabacan, Cotabato over the weekend.

The Kabacan municipal disaster risk reduction and management office along with Army troopers and emergency responders from the provincial government assisted families displaced by the calamity.

Kabacan Mayor Evangeline Pascua-Guzman said the municipal government has yet to assess the extent of damage in the villages of Katidtuan, Lower Paatan, Malamote and Osias as well as in other areas in the municipality.

“No one was hurt, but many houses were destroyed and several families were left homeless in the aftermath of the calamity,” Guzman said.

She said the local government’s emergency response operations in Katidtuan, Lower Paatan, Malamote and Osias are being assisted by the office of the governor.

The winds also destroyed farms in Kabacan, tagged as the rice granary of Cotabato.