Civil defense office aids landslide victims

THE Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in Northern Mindanao extended financial assistance to the victims of a landslide in Upper Kolambog, Barangay Lapasan last Friday.

OCD Regional Director Ana Cañeda to Sun.Star Monday that they immediately awarded P10,000 to the husband of victim Emelita Ubalde, “in behalf of National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) Chair and Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and NDRRMC Executive Director Usec. Benito Ramos.”

Cañeda said Ubalde died from multiple compression injuries.

She added that the OCD also gave financial assistance of P5,000 to Airene U. Rosales, mother of injured victim Adrian U. Rosales who is now confined at Capitol University Medical City due to multiple physical injuries secondary to crushing injury.

Ubalde died while her grandson was injured after their house in Sitio Upper Kolambog, Barangay Lapasan was buried due to the collapse of a portion of an abandoned old quarry site in the area when an intensity 4 earthquake hit the city last August 31.

According to Cañeda, Ubalde’s house was totally damaged as it was completely covered by debris with an estimated cost of P20,000.

Another house in Barangay Poblacion, Lugait town in Misamis Oriental was also partially damaged.

OCD records showed that there are about 150 houses located around the foot of the steep remnants of the abandoned old quarry site in Upper Kolambog, Barangay Lapasan exposed to high risk of soil and rock loose and massive debris fall in case of earthquake.

It was learned that these informal settlers moved in the area more than 10 years ago after the quarry site was abandoned.

But barangay officials agreed to relocate them to a safer area, as suggested by the City Estate Management Division following a geohazard assessment by the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau.

“The OCD will continue its monitoring on possible effects in other areas in the region,” Cañeda said.