MANILA, 3 August 2009 (IRIN): At least eight people have drowned and more than 375.000 been affected by massive flooding after heavy rains continued on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, according to disaster relief officials on Monday.
Many are among the tens of thousands already displaced by heavy fighting between government forces and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Maguindanao Province now living in government evacuation centers.
Regional emergency relief groups have also been told to be on alert for possible outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
Some 30 towns and one city in five provinces have been submerged since last week, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in Manila said.
Heavy flooding began on 25 July, affecting some 56 villages on Mindanao Island.
But as rains continued, major waterways also flooded their banks, and within days more and more areas, especially in low-lying catch basins in central Mindanao, were also inundated, the agency said.
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