Landslides hit 2 villages - Cebu Circle | Cebu City, Philippines

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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Landslides hit 2 villages

12/11/2010 - FOR more than eight hours, a portion of the road in Sitio Naga, Ba-rangay Pamutan couldn’t be used because a landslide dumped rocks on a stretch of about 40 feet.
Barangay Pamutan Captain Rolando Labitad it has been raining for two days in Pamutan.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 has issued an advisory that with the rainy season and string of reported landslides, people living within geo-hazard sites should be watchful and transfer to safer areas.

“Our advice to all residents living near slopes or at the foot of the mountain is to be vigilant at all times,” said Dr. Eddie Llamedo, MGB 7 information officer.
“And if necessary, evacuate to safer areas,” he added.

The advice was issued after a landslide was reported in Barangay Buhisan in Cebu City yesterday morning, two days after a landslide hit Barangay Mayana in Naga City, where 12 houses were damaged.
At 9 a.m. yesterday, vehicles could no longer pass an area in Sitio Naga, Barangay Pamutan and were diverted to an alternative route in Barangay Guadalupe, which Labitad described as a rough road. The Cebu City Government sent a backhoe loader to clear the area. Labitad said the area was cleared at 5:30 p.m. Alvin Santillana of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) said the rockfall in Sitio Naga was not an unusual occurrence. The council also used heavy equipment to clear the road of rocks and boulders three to four years ago. A few of the rocks were as big as vehicles. Good thing the area is not a residential area and not a single injury was reported yesterday or even a few years back. No other structure was also damaged. A long-term solution will have to be assessed because the City would have to spend millions and it is not certain if it would be economically wise, considering there are 79 other barangays that need the financial aid. But since it is a recurring problem, Santillana said it is worth looking into by the CCDCC and the city officials. Labitad said he will also have the backhoe loader work in Sitio Cabatbatan today to clear an area affected by a minor landslide.

As for the weakened riprap in Sitio Puti in Barangay Buhisan, Santillana said he has yet to receive a report. A damaged riprap, he said, would constitute a major infrastructure project that will entail a program of works and estimates. Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said the City Government would have to continue checking areas for possible problems like landslides and a collapsing riprap because of the heavy rains. Mayor Michael Rama asked Santillana to provide him with a report on the landslide in Barangay Pamutan and the action taken by the CCDCC. He reiterated the need for a coastal management board because landslide issues can be covered by the group.
In the Buhisan incident, a store and a vulcanizing shop were displaced after large cracks were observed on the ground in Sitio Lower Puti in Barangay Buhisan, Cebu City.


Store owner Rosa Gajudo, 42, said she noticed the cracks at 5:30 a.m. and was alarmed when these grew bigger.


“I picked up my things with the help of my neighbors,” she told Sun.Star Cebu.


She said she noticed large cracks on the riprap beside the river, adding that this alarmed some of her neighbors who lived just beside these walls. Gajudo said they had no plans of transferring to another place but she said the store would have to be moved elsewhere. There was a large crack observed a few feet from the riprap running parallel to the road. Llamedo said the MGB 7 has not received any report from the local government unit but will dispatch a team to inspect the area. (Sunstar)

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