Tuesday, August 05, 2008 Blasting off lot in Sinsin to solve problem: Tomas
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is thinking of triggering a total landslide in the Barangay Sinsin danger zone by setting off explosives to solve the problem once and for all.
He said that instead of always keeping a tight watch for possible landslides and warding people away, the mayor said they thought of blasting the area off so it would collapse and allow the soil to finally settle.
And then, he said, the city will allow nature to take its proper course and heal the land.
Protection
“It is a problem area and appears to be unstable. The area is very steep and very dangerous…. We might as well let it all slide and let nature grow again,” the mayor said.
He admitted environmentalists will surely rally against the plan, but he “does not care” of their “typical argument.”
“If we are to follow that argument (of protecting and not altering the environment), we might as well blow up the Angat Dam (in Manila) and the Banaue rice terraces, because they are not natural creations of God,” Osmeña said.
Continuous rain in Sitio Nangka, Sinsin last April 28 to May 1 resulted in massive soil movement that threatened homes and led to the collapse of a 300-meter section of the road.
Recommendation
That prompted the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau 7 and the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council to recommend the immediate relocation of at least 42 families.
A total of 70 families were eventually evacuated last May 14, but 20 have returned to their houses and their livelihood so they would have money to buy food.
They, however, were constantly monitored and warned to keep away from the landslide area, which was cordoned off.
The City has already prioritized the payment for lot owners whose properties will be used for the alternative road.
Yesterday, the mayor said repairing the road cost more compared to just paving another in a stable ground.
Last June 18, the City Council appropriated P950,000 for the purchase of a two-hectare lot to be used as a relocation site for the displaced families.
The mayor will fly by the site today on his way to Bukidnon for an updated aerial photograph to help the City better evaluate the situation.
“We consulted a geologist, who said the soil still have to stabilize. So we might as well let it slide now. But I am (still) just thinking out loud,” Osmeña said. (RHM)
