Tuesday, May 06, 2008 CH to inspect mountain barangays
TO check the damage caused by landslides, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and City Councilor Gerardo Carillo will visit four mountain barangays today for an ocular inspection before sending heavy equipment for road repairs.
The officials want to make sure that the soil can carry the weight of the equipment.
They also want to determine which part of the ground is solid in order to avoid any accident that could be caused by heavy machinery entering the area.
The mountain barangays of Guba, Sinsin, Babag and Sirao were hit by landslides Friday following continuous rain.
Cracks were found in different areas of Sitio Nangka in Barangay Sinsin, including the barangay road.
Cracks also appeared along the road linking Cebu City with Barangay Guba.
Osmeña and Carillo were scheduled to take a helicopter yesterday afternoon for their ocular inspection, but because of zero visibility caused by the unexpected rains, they canceled their aerial viewing.
Carillo rescheduled their inspection today and has coordinated with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
He also proposed that soil in the affected areas be tested to assess its geological condition and movement.
According to Carillo, the results will help city officials identify what kind of infrastructure projects are needed and where to put them, which could mean savings for the City.
“I held the budget for soil testing because some of the councilors have not yet understood its importance. What is the use of your infrastructure if the ground cracks?” the councilor said.
In their regular session tomorrow, Carillo will propose to the City Council to place the four barangays under a state of calamity so the calamity funds can be tapped in providing relief to the affected areas.
“We will ensure that the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council is activated so that we will be ready to monitor and respond to any incident,” said Carillo.
The City’s 80 barangays each have 100 volunteers trained to respond to any situation. (EPB)
