MGB presents critical zones to Naga city gov’t

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Central Office team has submitted to the Naga City government the delineation of the critical zones surrounding the ground zero of the landslide in Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan.

The local government unit (LGU) of Naga City has sought clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) if it is now safe for the families living outside the critical zone to go home.

At least 1,700 families from within the 1-kilometer radius from ground zero has been subjected to force evacuation as per the recommendation of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu during his visit last September 21.

Naga City LGU has also requested MGB-7 to conduct a ground validation through geo-tagging with personnel from the LGU in order to determine the number of households affected by the critical zone delineation.

Those who will be displaced by the critical zone delineation will be the priority beneficiaries of the 320-unit socialize housing program committed by the National Housing Authority (NHA) last week.

The Balili Property, which was earlier committed by the Cebu Provincial government for the relocation of those who will be displaced by the delineation, was also cleared by the MGB Central Office team as suitable for relocation.

Since the Balili property is a coastal and reclaimed area, the LGU has also requested the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) for the earthquake hazards such as liquefaction, tsunami, and storm surge among others.

Purok 6 in Barangay Inoburan, which was also considered as a relocation site, was however tagged by the MGB team as flooding susceptible area and not suitable for relocation.