5, 000 families flee as floods threaten three S. Philippine provinces

Residents in several villages in Sultan sa Baronguis town in Maguindanao province fled their homes swamped by floodwaters after the Allah river burst its banks, Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, spokesperson of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command, said, quoting reports from provincial disaster officials.

Villages in Abdullah Sangki and Rajah Buayan towns, also in Maguindanao province, were also flooded, and local officials have already mobilized personnel to distribute foodstuff assistance to thousands of individuals who evacuated, Cabangbang said.

The flooding also affected communities in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces which are traversed by the river.

Regional social welfare secretary Pombain Karon Kader said most of those displaced were the same evacuees dislocated by sporadic clashes between government forces and Moro rebels in previous months; Kazinform cites Xinhua.