Sunday, May 04, 2008 Soil erosion perils 20 Sinsin houses
AT LEAST 20 houses are at risk as a five-hectare lot in Sitio Nangka in the mountain barangay of Sinsin, Cebu City continues to erode.
There were more landslides yesterday morning as a result of the heavy downpour the night before.
Cracks were also found in different areas of the sitio, including the barangay road and a house owned by Aida Tabucal.
One portion of the barangay road has been covered by soil that came down from the nearby slope, making it impassable; residents have to use an alternative road in neighboring Barangay Sudlon I to reach Sitio Nangka.
In Barangay Lahug, a wall, which served as a fence of two adjacent subdivisions—BC Homes and Hacienda Salinas—collapsed yesterday morning.
The incident damaged two cars owned by the Deliartes family, who lives in BC Homes.
In the Sinsin incident, Barangay Captain Ramon Ylaya Jr. said the soil started to erode sometime in 2001 yet, but the process has worsened in the past months.
He believes the soil’s foundation started to loosen after the road widening and concreting in Sitio Nangka sometime in the late 1990s.
A heavy downpour last February also had soil and rocks covering a big portion of the barangay road, making it impassable to vehicles, including motorcycles.
Even people are discouraged from passing or going to the area as the earth might give way anytime because of the cracks which barangay officials noted.
Ylaya said at least 20 houses within the five-hectare lot are threatened because of the continuous erosion.
He said he already raised the matter to the Cebu City Government before tragedy strikes the residents.
Ylaya said if construction materials are made available to affected constituents, the barangay also has available lots where they can relocate.
He said he has requested the City Council to help provide construction materials.
Councilor Gerardo Carillo, for his part, wants all families affected by the landslide to be relocated immediately, to avoid other disasters at the peak of the rainy season.
Yesterday afternoon, City Hall personnel were mobilized to bring food assistance to the affected families and make sure they are all temporarily relocated to the barangay sports complex.
“We sent an engineering crew there and instructed them to immediately clear the roads and transfer the affected residents to a safer place where they will all be attended to,” Carillo assured.
In the case of Tabucal’s house, she told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday that she discovered the long cracks in her kitchen and in her living room last March. She covered the cracks with floor mats.
She said her family plans to transfer to a safer place in the barangay.
Cebu City south district Councilor Roberto Cabar-rubias, who went to Sinsin to check the situation, told Sun.Star Cebu that the council is taking action on the barangay’s concern.
Last Wednesday during the council’s regular session, they approved a resolution to hire a contractor that will conduct a feasibility study worth P190,000 on the possibility of applying a “geo-textile technology” where a “sealant” will be placed in the soil to avoid erosion.
Cabarrubias also sees the need to immediately repair the drainage system, which has been affected by the erosion.
It was learned that because of the movement of the soil, most of the culverts that were put up in the area have been covered by mud, causing the flow of the water to divert and drift to different areas in the sitio.
In the Lahug incident, Madel Lauron, housekeeper of the Deliartes whose home is 20 feet from the wall, said he saw the wall go down as she was throwing something outside when it happened.
Melodina Sual, president of the BC Homeown-ers Association, said the fence’s structure was too weak to support the slopes of Hacienda Salinas.
“The iron bars used were slender, making the foundation weak,” Sual said in Cebuano.
The developers, however, denied the allegation.
The wall was too old that is why it fell, they said.
The walls of BC Homes are already 20 years old and were doubled with a new walling from the developers of Hacienda Salinas.
Two houses in Hacienda Salinas, which are a few steps from the wall, were not damaged by the incident.
Glean Acosta, project engineer of Hacienda Salinas, said they cannot assess the extent of damage as of the moment, as they have to conduct further evaluation.
The developers gave no further statements, and instead cleared the area.
“I’m afraid that if they bulldoze this, the entire wall might collapse,” Sual said.
No injury was reported yet some residents of BC Homes, especially the Deliartes, have relocated for the meantime. (JST, Camille G. Travilla, UP Mass Comm Intern/With a report from RHM)
