Grandma clings to tree branches to avoid fall into cliff

An elderly woman survived unharmed after she clung to the branches of a nearby tree when her shanty, which stood at the edge of a cliff in Sitio Tapuko, Brgy. Pit-os, collapsed on Wednesday morning.

The structure occupied by Celia Abendan, 83, buckled after its wooden foundation was broken into half.

But Abendan managed to cling to the branches of a nearby tree to prevent herself from falling off the cliff, which is approximately three-stories high.

Branches from the same mansanitas tree also prevented her already broken house from falling in the river below.

Nagiel Bañacia, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO), said that the incident had nothing to do with the rains brought about by Tropical Depression Samuel.

Bañacia also corrected earlier reports that loose soil caused damage on Abendan’s shanty.

“There’s no minor landslide. It just so happens that the house collapsed due to the poor foundation and that it was raining (when it happened) due to Tropical Depression Samuel,” Banacia said.

Abendan lives on the shanty by herself after her husband left her years back while her four children now have families of their own.

She said that she was about to enter the shanty after cooking breakfast in a dirty kitchen outside when the structure’s wooden posts started to break at past 9 a.m. today.

Abendan is now taking shelter at the chapel in Sitio Tapuko.

“Ang nakaluwas gyud nako kay ang mansanitas kay maoy nagbabag pagdahili sa balay. Wala pa tong mansanitas, nalahos tingale ko sa ubos,” said Abendan.

Pit-os Councilor John Christian Asignar, one of the barangay officials who responded to the area, said they are now appealing for Abendan’s relatives to adopt her.

“As of now, we sent a request to DWUP (Department of Welfare and Urban Poor) to assess if she (Abendan) can return and rebuild her house (on the same area),” Asignar added.