Boholanos urged not to turn sinkholes into garbage dumps

MANILA, Philippines - Don’t turn sinkholes into garbage dumps.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Visayas made this appeal to residents in Bohol, where newly formed sinkholes were reported following the magnitude 7.2 quake last week.

This developed as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday the death toll in the quake increased to 215, of which 201 were recorded in Bohol.

 â€œPlease don’t make these sinkholes into your garbage dumps because along with other concerned agencies, we are still conducting our studies on them,” Eddie Llamedo, DENR spokesman in Central Visayas said.

The DENR along with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) have listed seven sinkholes in Pagdaman Island in Calape town. The agency said they would also check the sinkholes in Cortez town.

The biggest sinkhole that has been discovered was in Barangay Pagdanan, the opening of which is 15 by 17 meters in diameter and three meters deep.

Llamedo said they would check for newly formed sinkholes near populated areas like schools, hospitals and churches, as well those near roads and bridges to ensure the safety of the public.

“What we are seeing here is that we can complete the inventory and our studies together with the MGB of these quake-generated sinkholes in six months’ time,” he said.

The DENR said it would recommend the immediate evacuation or transfer of communities near these sinkholes if they were found to be dangerous.

Damage suffered by the Chocolate Hills due to the quake is also being assessed.

Llamedo said the DENR would also request the Department of National Defense to help them in taking aerial photos of the Chocolate Hills.

The DENR had so far surveyed the damage on at least 20 hills, including the inventory of wildlife in the area.

Meanwhile, the NDRRMC said that aside from the 215 dead, 742 were reported injured and eight are missing following the quake.

The two latest fatalities from Bohol were identified as Valleser Deogracias, 46, who died yesterday after catching pneumonia inside an evacuation center in Antequera town while 75-year-old Marcelina Catalan died from a heart attack during an aftershock.

Of the 215 fatalities, 13 were recorded in Cebu and one in Siquijor.

P1.6-billion damage

The NDRRMC said the quake destroyed P1.6 billion worth of private and government infrastructure – roads and bridges, flood control projects, schools and hospitals – in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

The number of houses destroyed was placed at 56,933 units, affecting 69,165 families or 360,018 individuals.

Thousands of residents were rendered homeless in the towns of Antequera, Calape, Catigbian, Cortes, Inabanga, Loon, Maribojoc, Sagbayan, San Isidro and Tubigon in Bohol.