Lake Maughan's water level rises to dangerous level

The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council of South Cotabato has sounded the alarm to new danger posed by Lake Maughan in the municipality of T’boli in light of its rising water level and erosion of a portion of the mountain lake’s wall following heavy rains.

Nearly two dozen people were killed and thousands were displaced in the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao when the walls of the lake -- the crater of the dormant Mt. Parker volcano -- collapsed in 1995. In March 2006, water spilling over from the lake swamped communities below after a spate of heavy rain.

John Lorca, South Cotabato disaster coordinator, said the authorities have been monitoring the lake’s water level since February 14 due to the continuous rain.

He said T'boli officials discovered the rising water level during a clean-up drive in the area. Volunteers also noted a landslide in one portion of the lake’s wall.

"The soil around the lake probably loosened up due to the continuous rains," Lorca said, adding that it was possible a part of the wall will eventually collapse.

Lorca said a composite team from the PDCC, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) and other agencies, will hike to Mt. Parker on Monday (Feb. 25) to assess the situation.

In Koronadal City, the heavy rains triggered a landslide that buried at least 10 houses, killing a 67-year old woman, on Thursday.

Jane Gabucan, Koronadal social welfare chief, identified the fatality as Belen Gamog of Barangay Datal Biadong.

"It took two hours for rescue unit personnel to retrieve the remains of Gamog due to the huge volume of soil," Gabucan said.

She said authorities have already warned residents, particularly those living along riverbanks and hills, to move to safer ground as the rains continued.