CEBU CITY, Philippines — Following the landslide in Barangay Kalunasan, which damaged two homes, Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak is asking officials of the city’s mountain barangays to start to identify and monitor landslide-prone areas that are located within their jurisdictions.
Tumulak said that families who live in high-risk areas should be evacuated as soon as possible to ensure their safety.
“Karon daan dapat gitan-aw na nila ang mga lugar nga delikado, prone sa landslide. Mahimo if delikado gyod ievacuate na daan ang mga residente,” said Tumulak.
(By now, they should have already checked unsafe and landslide-prone areas. If the area is unsafe, residents should have already been evacuated.)
Its been raining in Metro Cebu in the last two days as a result of the low-pressure area (LPA) that has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
READ: Pagasa warns of possible flooding, landslides as rains may last until Saturday
Pagasa said raining in Cebu is expected to last until the weekend.
Tumulak, the chairperson of the City Council’s disaster risk reduction and management committee, said that constant downpour causes the soil to loosen.
He said that barangay officials should continue to monitor high-risk areas that are located within their respective jurisdictions and encourage vigilance among the residents.
Republic Act No. 10121 of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Law also encourages barangays to come up with their own hazard map that will especially identify the landslide-prone areas.
Tumulak said that the destruction of two homes which resulted from the Tuesday night landslide in Barangay Kalunsan could have been prevented if barangay officials were proactive in checking danger zones in their barangay.
Luckily, no one was injured during the landslide.
The affected families are now taking shelter at the barangay gymnasium. / dcb