Naga City mulls seeking DPWH help to stabilize landslide-prone slopes near main roads

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The city government of Naga, Cebu mulls asking assistance from the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) to stabilize slopes along their main roads.

This after a portion of the slope in Sitio Inamuan, Barangay Lutac slid off and covered a part of the national road on Thursday morning, July 2, 2019.

The City of Naga Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CNDRRMO) received the landslide report at 7:11 a.m. and deployed personnel to clear the area.

Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong, in an interview with CDN Digital, said Barangay Lutac is among the landslide-prone areas in the city.

Barangay Lutac is located in the western part of Naga City leading to the city of Toledo.

“Naclear na man nila to ganina ang agianan unya amo pod ni nga i-refer sa DPWH kay duol man ni sa national road gyud,” Chiong said.

(The area was cleared already and we will refer this to the DPWH because this is near the national road.)

The mayor added that the city will look into measures that they can use for the meantime to ensure the safety of travellers along the routes of landslide-prone areas.

In September 2018, a massive landslide in Naga wiped Sitios Tagaytay and Sindulan III in Barangay Tinaan and parts of neighboring villages of Naalad, Pangdan and Mainit. 

The tragedy rendered over 70 fatalities while over 1,800 families were evacuated for almost three months. /bmjo