Barangays Kalunasan, Lahug monitoring mountainsides following landslides

Landslide damaged parts of homes in Barangay Kalunasan. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City PIO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Officials of two villages here are continuously monitoring areas that experienced landslides due to the heavy downpour on Tuesday night, September 15, 2020.

On Wednesday morning, Barangay Kalunasan has successfully evacuated 68 individuals from Sitios Ciareja and Eberita after their houses were partially destroyed by a landslide.

These sitios are part of the hazard zones in the barangay, lodged between a flashflood prone area near the Mananga River, and a landslide-prone area along a mountainside.

There are a total of 300 families living in this hazard zone, but the barangay cannot force them to relocate as the city has yet to find a relocating site for them.

Kalunasan Barangay Captain Nunilon Monares told CDN Digital that the barangay is constantly monitoring the area to evacuate the residents in case of an impending disaster.

Read: Public warned of possible landslides as rains persist

“Ato na silag gibutang sa evacuation site usa, nya dili lang gyod sila pabalikon mientras humok pa ang yuta. (We have placed the victims at the evacuation center and they cannot go back while the soil is still soft),” said Kalunasan.

The Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) has already provided initial relief aid to the victims and conducted profiling for additional assistance.

Monares said that landslides has become a yearly problem in the barangay particularly in the hazard prone areas, and the residents are reminded every year to be vigilant.

For families who still wish to evacuate amid the expected rains today, the Kanulasan gym is open for them.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Lahug, barangay personnel are strictly monitoring the landslide area in Upper Laguerta, located inside a private subdivision.

The landslide blocked off a street, but no property was damaged and no people were injured in the incident.

Lahug Barangay Captain Hazel Anne Muaña Empleo told CDN Digital that they have cordoned off the area while waiting for the equipment from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).

The rocks and soil that have fallen off the side of the mountain need to be removed so the road can be passable again.

For the meantime, Empleo urged the residents in the area to be vigilant should the rain cause anymore landslide. A few houses are located near the landslide area, and the households here should be extra careful.

“Magbinantayon lang ta. Naswertean ta nga wala ra gyoy naangol sa landslide, wala puy naigo. Apan kailangan padayon ta nga magbantay sa atong palibot,” said Empleo.

(We should be vigilant. We are lucky that the landslide did not damage anything, but we need to be aware of our surrouding.)

The barangay has assigned personnel to guard the area so people will not try to pass through the blocked road. /bmjo