Landslides threaten villages in 5 Cagayan towns

TUGUEGARAO CITY – A number of villages in at least five Cagayan towns are being monitored for possible landslides in the aftermath of floods that left at least 13 people dead and affected 200,000 villagers in Cagayan Valley last week.

These villages, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), face massive soil erosion due to the weeklong floods.

The MGB called on residents of the landslide-threatened areas to evacuate to safer areas, as the soil remains unstable.

The MGB issued the advisory as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration warned residents in some areas in Central and Northern Luzon of possible flash floods and landslides due to prolonged rainfall.

In a report, Albert Jacildo, of the MGB regional office based here, said the threatened areas include parts of Santa Ana, Rizal, Santa Praxedes and Baggao towns, whose land surfaces have had “cracks.” 

“As early as last year we already warned the affected residents (after) some fissures and cracks (were discovered) on the land surfaces in their areas,” Jacildo said.

The MGB said they are continuously monitoring these areas and other landslide-threatened towns in Cagayan and elsewhere in the region.

“These identified areas, mostly located near hilly areas, are found to have insufficient vegetation to prevent the loosening of soil which usually takes place during rainy months,” Jacildo said. 

Earlier, a study identified at least 60 areas mostly on the banks of the Cagayan River – which stretches from Nueva Vizcaya’s Magat River to the mouth of the Cagayan River in Aparri, Cagayan – as prone to flash floods.

Among the flood-prone areas are the towns of Solano, Bayombong, Bagabag and Bambang in Nueva Vizcaya; the northern towns of Isabela, including the capital town of Ilagan; and the downstream and southwestern towns in Cagayan. – Charlie Lagasca