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Monday, February 20, 2006
Rains, earthquake spur evacuation in Davao areas
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- Almost two weeks after huge fissures snaked through the ground of two villages in Tarragona, Davao Oriental, officials there finally ordered the evacuation of the area for fear of experiencing a tragedy similar to what happened in Southern Leyte last week.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 11 declared the area "highly unstable" and warned of a "major landslide" during a visit to the area on Valentine's Day last week.
The bureau visited the area to look into the landslide that dislocated over 150 families in that hinterland town further east of Davao Oriental's capital town Mati.
But Tarragona Mayor Samuel Uy had to contend with the resistance of residents in the identified danger zone. He said that while the residents said they were willing to evacuate, they demanded that they not be made to evacuate to an area that is not accessible to their present homes because they have no other means of livelihood.
Leyte tragedy
The lack of such an evacuation site prevented the mayor from immediately ordering the people to leave.
But last Friday's tragedy in St. Bernard town of Southern Leyte prompted the mayor to order the total evacuation of sitios Ugbo and Macopa in barangays Tubaon and Maganda.
In a telephone interview Saturday, Uy said there were still about 30 families who refused to vacate their houses.
Office of Civil Defense regional director Carmelito Lupo said the situation in the two barangays is getting worse as more cracks are appearing on the ground.
Cracks seen by the team last February 14 were as deep as two meters and as wide as half a meter.
Lupo said the number of houses destroyed in the area had also increased from 54 last week to 88 houses as of Saturday.
Fears of greater damage to lives and property were fanned by an earthquake Sunday morning.
The mudslide in Southern Leyte swallowed a village in just a matter of minutes, almost at the same time that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded a slight tectonic tremor of magnitude 2.6 southwest of Sogod town at around 10:36 a.m. of February 17.
On Sunday, Phivolcs recorded an earthquake in the Southeastern Mindanao area with an epicenter in the Sanguihe Trench, 91 kilometers southwest of General Santos City. It triggered an intensity 3 earthquake in General Santos and intensity 2 earthquakes in the Davao Region, Desiderio Cabanlit of Phivolcs said.
Last January 23, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.4 was recorded, its epicenter estimated to be 103 southeast of Mati, Davao Oriental.
Leave area
Mayor Uy said they are still experiencing continuous rain in the area prompting many residents there to voluntarily dismantle their houses and leave the area for their own safety.
It was learned, though, that authorities still have not identified a relocation site for the 172 affected families. Uy assured residents, though, that by Monday they will finally identify a safe and solid ground suitable for the relocation of his constituents.
The mayor said residents in the two villages are temporarily relocated in nearby areas.
Lupo said an MGB team will go to Tarragona today for a geohazard mapping of possible relocation sites.
In the intensity 2 quake Sunday morning, Mayor Uy said they felt the tremor in Tarragona but said it did not cause any damage in their municipality, especially in the two villages. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
(February 20, 2006 issue)
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