Land cracks, sinkholes reported in Agusan mining town

ROSARIO, Agusan Del Sur, Philippines – Huge land cracks and sinkholes have been found in hinterland areas in this mining town, particularly in a declared “Minahan ng Bayan” in a barangay, authorities said yesterday.

This prompted Agusan Del Sur Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza to order the immediate and forced evacuation of all residents of Barangay Bayugan 3 whose center is located along the national highway.

Experts of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Mines and Geosciences Bureau, who had conducted two ocular inspections in the area, recommended the forced evacuation of all residents of Barangay Bayugan 3 and adjoining areas.

In its initial report, the DENR-MGB team said the land cracks originated from neighboring Pantukan town in Compostela Valley. 

Last year, scores of people, mostly small-scale miners, were killed in landslides in Pantukan.

The team said the land cracks here are three to five meters wide and spans 350 meters to as long as one kilometer.

The team, however, said they lacked equipment to determine how deep the cracks and sinkholes are.

Land cracks and sinkholes were also found in mountainside areas in the coastal town of Tago in Surigao Del Sur.