Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Floods outpace armed conflict as source of Philippine refugees

Samar News (Philippines): Floods everywhere have dislodged armed conflict as the country's top generator of internal refugees, a governor from Mindanao said over the weekend. "Without playing down the perils of recurring armed conflict, we're afraid more Filipinos now risk being driven out of their homes and sources of livelihood due to harsh climate change," North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou "Lala" Taliño-Mendoza said.

Taliño-Mendoza also warned that massive flooding on one hand and intense drought on the other would expose a greater number of Filipinos to hunger, due to spoiled farm harvests and lack of ready access to affordable food.

…The Mindanao governor made the statement shortly after the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that a total of 470,763 persons or 92,606 families have been severely affected by flooding and landslides that hit eight regions across the country. The disasters also left at least 26 people dead.

North Cotabato and other parts of Central Mindanao have had their share of recurring floods every time the 373-kilometer Mindanao River overflows on account of a heavy downpour.…"We also have to change the way we construct our roads and drainage systems so that during heavy rainfall some of the surface runoff gets purposely channeled to impounding structures and watersheds, instead of flowing into our river systems and draining into the open sea," she said….

The drainage basin of the Mindanao River

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