COTABATO CITY — More than 200 houses spread across two villages were razed by fire Sunday night in Zamboanga City.
In separate statements released early Monday, Zamboanga City Mayor John M. Dalipe and the Bureau of Fire Protection-9 said the fire started past 8 p.m. in Barangay Camino Nuevo and spread quickly through the adjacent residences in Barangay Canelar before being put out at 10:36 p.m.
Hundreds of families who lost their homes were temporarily evacuated to the covered courts of both barangays and the nearby Iglesia Ni Kristo compound.
An initial tally from the city’s disaster response office indicated that there are 150 families who lost their homes on Tambucho Street, Barangay Canelar, and 58 families were staying at the Barangay Camino Nuevo evacuation site.
As of noon yesterday, the City Social Welfare and Development Office has been distributing food and essential relief supplies to the fire victims. Meanwhile, arson investigators were still investigating the cause of the fire. — John Felix M. Unson
