Landslide-hit Arayat village now permanent danger zone

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga , Philippines  – The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has declared at least one community at the foot of Mt. Arayat in this province a “permanent danger zone” and has started more studies to determine other areas similarly situated following a landslide that killed 12 people at the height of tropical storm “Ondoy” last Sept. 26.

MGB geologist Orlando Pineda told The STAR that he has asked Arayat officials to alert villagers living near creeks emanating from Mt. Arayat on the danger of landslides during unusually heavy rainfall.

He said the recent landslide took the path of the creek called Sapang Mayagat on the slopes of Mt. Arayat, whose highest peak is about 1,030 meters above sea level and which the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said has no history of eruption.

“I have recommended that Purok 7 in Barangay San Juan Banyo be made a permanent danger zone,” Pineda said.

He quoted Arayat officials as telling him that 87 families live in Purok 7, although as many as 300 families were evacuated from the foot of Mt. Arayat after the landslide.

“We will see if there is a need to consider more areas as permanent danger zones,” he said.

Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao, who presided the other day over a public hearing on the Arayat tragedy, asked the MGB to conduct more extensive studies on the dangers facing communities in Arayat and neighboring Magalang town, too.

Pineda said the provincial board asked him to finish the study by Oct. 20.

Both Pineda and volcanologist July Sabit debunked initial reports that illegal mining on Mt. Arayat triggered the landslide, as the local folk recalled hearing an explosion before tons of earth materials cascaded down the slopes.

Sabit said descending rocks or the breakage of earth materials from a portion of Mt. Arayat could explain the explosion.

For his part, Pineda said, “I think the earth on Mt. Arayat was already too water-logged and the extraordinary heavy rains dumped by Ondoy triggered the landslide.”

Pineda cited reports that water gauges in the area indicated 10 millimeters of rainfall at the time of the landslide. Seven millimeters of rainfall is already considered “heavy,” he added.

Arayat Mayor Chito Espino was reported to have already recommended a permanent relocation site for the affected families, but Pineda said the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Office for Civil Defense will not recommend funding for any resettlement project without the approval of the MGB to make sure that the alternative site is safe.