History of landslides in Compostela Valley

MANILA, Philippines - One of the worst landslides that struck the country in recent years was the Southern Leyte tragedy that buried Guinsaugon village in the town of Saint Bernard where more than 1,000 people died.

On Feb. 17, 2006, a mild earthquake shook the village that sits beside Mt. Kan-Abag, followed by a horrifying sight as a side of the mountain seemingly went up in smoke, then collapsed into a thick layer of mud. The area had seen intermittent rains over the past four months.

Meanwhile, landslides have been commonplace in the mining village in Compostela Valley, prompting the government to declare it as a geo-hazard site last October.

Here is a list of landslides that struck the province of Compostela Valley, mostly caused by continuous heavy rains:

March 19, 2001 Three miners are killed and two others reported missing in a landslide that struck the gold-rush site in Barangay Kingking, Pantukan.

Feb. 15, 2001 Eight people, mostly children, are killed and 11 others are injured in a landslide that struck a residential area at the gold-rush site at Mt. Diwalwal in Monkayo.

March 12, 2003 17 miners are rescued while two die when a mining tunnel collapses in Mt. Diwalwal. 

May 16, 2003 Four people including two children are buried alive after a landslide struck Sitio Panganason, Kingking.

Oct. 26, 2005 32 die and five others are missing after a landslide struck a mining site on Mt. Diwalwal.

June 20, 2006 A landslide kills five people and injures five others in a rain-soaked village in a mining site where six houses are buried in Barangay Napnapan in Pantukan town.

July 9, 2007 A landslide at Mt. Diwalwal kills five people and injures several others.

Aug. 8, 2007 Tropical storm “Chedeng” triggers landslides that kill at least 10 people and bury seven houses in the southern gold mining town of Maco.

Sept. 6, 2008 The death toll from the two landslides in Barangay Masara in Maco reaches 24, with 32 persons injured and two missing.

Nov. 20, 2008 Rescuers pull six bodies from under tons of mud after days of rain loosened soil and buried several houses in a village near the gold-rush site on Mt. Diwalwal caused by twin landslides.

Dec. 11, 2008 Three small-scale miners, including a father and son, are killed in a landslide that struck Purok 25, Barangay Ngan in Compostela town.

May 18, 2009 The death toll in Compostela Valley reaches 26 with 19 others reported missing after several shanties are buried by landslides in Sitio Boringot, Napnapan.

April 22, 2011 A landslide caused by heavy rains sweep away shanties at the foot of the mountains in Barangay Kingking in Pantukan, burying 14 people including eight miners.