‘Cebu City has 770 sinkholes’

There are at least 770 sinkholes in “urban” Cebu City.

This is according to a study conducted by the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7).

The MGB yesterday met with the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) to discuss the matter.

CDRRMO chief Nagiel Bañacia said geologists discovered small and large sinkholes underneath the urban area.

“Their explanation is because of the composition of our land in the city, it is mostly limestone,” he said.

A sinkhole is a depression or a hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer, and it usually is formed after heavy rains or an earthquake.

Bañacia, however, said that the sinkholes in the city, however, are not dangerous per se, but they can help the city to identify areas to avoid especially in future building constructions.

He said the report would be a basis for the city to determine future development plans and mitigation.

The new information is not meant to scare the public, he clarified.

He said the data would give inputs to engineers in the academe and give them an idea on how to mitigate or solve the problem.

The data gathered is also important particularly to the Office of the Building Officials (OBO).

Bañacia said it will guide them in approving building permits in areas where there are identified sinkholes. Bañacia, however, refused to name these areas.

He said on August or September, representatives from MGB will appear before the City Council to present and explain all their findings.

He said they will conduct information dissemination drive in the city to explain the formation of these sinkholes.

Meantime, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) is also conducting a study in locating fault lines that are possibly underneath the city.

“Their study is ongoing. Nakita nila that the city is fast developing so that is why (they conducted a study),” he said.