Valenzuela City appeals for donations for Leyte landslide victims

Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian appealed yesterday to his constituents for donations to help victims of last Friday’s massive landslide in Southern Leyte that buried alive an entire village.

"Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian is calling on all Valenzuelanos to share whatever they can to the victims of mudslide in Saint Bernard town," Gatchalian’s public information officer Marither Menia told The STAR.

Menia said people could bring their donations to the local social welfare and development office at the City Hall. They may also contact Venus Gaoiran or the Public Information Office at 292-0211.

"The mayor wanted to gather as much help as possible," Menia said.

The Valenzuela City government would deliver the donations to the Southern Leyte authorities on Friday.

A massive mudslide wiped out the farming village of Guinsaugon in Saint Bernard town, burying an estimated 1,800 people. The 375 houses in the village were all gone.

According to the study conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) the bedrock of Southern Leyte was "badly broken or fragmented" and "prone to weathering or erosion."

Water seeping into the rock fractures during heavy rains could have loosened the ground and made it unstable. — Pete Laude