Hundreds evacuated due to landslide risk

CEBU, Philippines - At least 219 people were forced to evacuate from their houses in the mountain barangay of Gaas, Balamban town, last Sunday afternoon, due to big cracks found in the hill which could be a cause of danger to residents.

Balamban police chief Chief Insp. Richard Oliver said that all residents are temporarily sheltered in the barangay hall and the Gaas National High School after 12 days of continuous rainfall.

"Daghan na ug cracks ang yuta unya landslide prone pud ang lugar," Oliver said in a phone interview.

Oliver added that all mountain barangays in Balamban are landslide-prone but police and the local government unit are still assessing if there is a need for other residents to evacuate or not, depending also on the weather condition.

"Gaas lang ang gi-una namo kay possible anytime pwede mo-collapse ang yuta," the police chief said.

The Cebu Provincial Police Office has been on full alert status since last week due to bad weather, said CPPO director Senior Supt. Noel Gillamac.

Gillamac said that even before the weather bulletin on Tropical Depression Agaton was issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration, he sent a directive to all chiefs of police to monitor their areas for possible landslides and flashfloods.

"We are also coordinating with the local government unit in preparing 24/7 due to continuous rainfall," Gillamac said in a phone interview.

He also directed his men to carry out forced evacuations where these are necessary.

Gillamac further said they are also monitoring motorized bancas from Bantayan Island to mainland Cebu and vice-versa.

Last Friday, a portion of the Transcentral Highway in Barangay Gaas, Balamban was impassable for a few hours due to a landslide. Based on a report from the CPPO headquarters, the landslide happened past 10 p.m. near the rest house of Provincial Board Member Alex Binghay.

The road, however, was immediately cleaned up by the local government unit. No one was reported injured. — /BRP (FREEMAN)