Cracks and gaps in the road at Sitio Tawagan, Barangay Sirao were filled with soil to make it passable to vehicles.
(Contributed photo/DPWH)
Roads in Sitio Tawagan in the mountain barangay of Sirao that were damaged by last Monday’s landslide were now passable.
Cracks and gaps on the concrete road in the area were filled with soil and other filling materials by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last Saturday.
“There are just a portion where we still need to fill. Hopefully we can finish it by tomorrow (Monday). This is a joint effort by the DPWH and the city government,” said Engr. Nicomedes Leonor of the DPWH Cebu City District.
The DPWH used a payloader and backhoe to repair the road.
The Cebu City government also lent another backhoe, two dump trucks and a roller truck which compacted the soil on the road to make it stable for passing vehicles.
Aside from filling gaps on the roads, Leonor said they also had to make some alternative roads in portions which cannot be repaired easily.
He said these are only temporary solutions since Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña requested for the repairs ahead of the fiesta in Sirao this week.
Since the roads are barangay roads, he said it will be up to City Hall if they will cement it again.
“This is just for the meantime especially with the advisory from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) that the soil in the area is still unstable,” Leonor said.
The MGB-7 earlier said the affected areas in Sitios Tawagan and Kan-irag should be declared as no-build zones, which means some of the residents that were evacuated near the affected area will be barred from returning there.
The MGB said though that the areas can still be used for farming but not for residential purposes.
Nagiel Bañacia, chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO), said they will follow the MGB’s recommendation.
He said they will be holding a dialogue with the affected families within the week to explain to them their situation.
The city will also be looking for a relocation site within the barangay together with the MGB that won’t be susceptible to landslides.
Related stories: STATE OF CALAMITY
Landslides block mountain roads in Cebu City