COTABATO CITY: The death toll in the massive flooding that hit the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) rose to eight with the drowning of a 22-year-old male in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur on Sunday. Benjamin Alip, municipal disaster officer of Pagalungan, said in a radio interview Monday that the victim tried to rescue his cow in Barangay Damalasak. Pagalungan was among the 22 of 24 towns in Maguindanao del Sur that were submerged by floodwaters following heavy downpour, which also affected neighboring North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao del Norte provinces. Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo and Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian arrived in Maguindanao del Norte on Sunday morning and visited the most affected town of Matanog, where five children perished due to flash floods on July 9. Tim Ambolodto, Maguindanao del Sur provincial disaster risk reduction management chief, said heavy downpours caused massive flooding in Pa galungan, Datu Montawal, and 15 other towns in the province. She said 9,616 families in Pagalungan and 60,000 families all over the province have been affected. Earlier, two residents of Balabagan and Kapatagan towns in Lanao del Sur also died after they were swept away by rampaging floodwaters. Joefel Delicana, spokesperson for the BARMM disaster management unit, said the calamity affected 94,395 individuals in total. Two public schools and a multipurpose gym were destroyed, while the BARMM-Rapid Emergency Action in Disaster Incidence reported that 425 homes were damaged. 'The province has been placed on red alert status,' Delicana said. In Kabacan, North Cotabato, the body of a woman who drowned in Maramag, Bukidnon, was fished out of Kabacan River. Source: Philippines News agency