Landslides trap NV folk

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Some 700 families in a remote mountain village northeast of this capital town are still isolated a week after typhoon "Paeng" pummeled Cagayan Valley, leaving dozens of people dead and millions of pesos in infrastructure damage and agricultural losses.

This, after rampaging floodwaters and landslides spawned by the super howler destroyed the bridge linking Runruno, a traditional mining village in Quezon town, to the rest of the province.

Runruno has been identified as one of the landslide-prone areas in the region.

Authorities fear that villagers may starve as relief aid trickles due to the barangay’s difficult terrain and the lack of resources. The Air Force has stopped its rescue and relief efforts, too.

"With our local resources we are doing our best to somehow alleviate the plight of our constituents. We have been continually extending assistance to the villagers the best way we can," said Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma.

Many houses in Runruno are destroyed and farms are covered in mud. The village, some 20 kilometers away from this capital town, can only be reached now by hiking for at least three hours from the nearest passable road.

Due to the extent of the typhoon damage — about P200 million in crop losses and infrastructure damage, besides 13 fatalities and at least 10 others still missing — the provincial government has placed the entire province under a state of calamity to hasten the release of its P20-million calamity fund.

"This will not be enough but at least we have something for us to start rebuilding what has been destroyed by the typhoon. Foremost, we have to bring back the normal conditions of the communities, whose livelihood was badly shaken as a result of the typhoon," Cuaresma said.

Runruno chief Dodoy Rafael said "Paeng" was the worst calamity his constituents have experienced since 1978.

"We hope our local and national leaders will continue assisting us until we are able to recover from the tragedy," he said.

Meanwhile, a local environmental group blamed the landslides and flash floods on illegal, small-scale mining in the area, causing the soil to loosen and easily erode.

But engineer Jerrysal Mangaoang, Cagayan Valley director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, disputed this, saying the landslides occurred on the opposite side of the mountain where illegal miners operate.

Instead, Mangaoang blamed timber poaching and slash-and-burn farming by the natives.