PIGAWAYAN, North Cotabato, Philippines \u2013 Hundreds of commuters were stranded for at least five hours when the national highway was submerged in floodwater on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n\n
Senior Inspector Donald Cabigas, the town\u2019s chief of police, said the Manuangan River overflowed and floodwater rushed to the national highway, leaving light vehicles and passengers stranded.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe flood water is too strong that only huge vehicles can pass the highway,\u201d Cabigas said.<\/p>\n\n
Residents in low-lying villages have also evacuated, seeking refuge in relatives’ homes and village halls.<\/p>\n\n
Cabigas said no one was reported hurt in the flashflood, which started to subside before Sunday noon.<\/p>\n\n
Mayor Herminio Roquero, who rushed to the flooded areas, instructed the Municipal Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) to validate the extent of flood damage for possible assistance.<\/p>\n\n
Torrential rains were also experienced in the towns of Mlang, Tulunan, Matalam and Kidapawan City in the past two days.<\/p>\n\n
The state weather agency said the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) hovering over in Mindanao and some parts of the Visayas caused the moderate to heavy rains in Mindanao.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hundreds of commuters were stranded for at least five hours when the national highway was submerged in floodwater on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":16020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,46],"tags":[60,4294,41955,2824,206081,2500,76],"byline":[],"source":[206070],"column":[],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n