Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Kalinga landslide kills 2, damages properties
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
BAGUIO CITY -- Two children were killed while three other members of the same family were injured after boulders from Mount Oggaga, loosened by rains brought about typhoon Inday, fell on some houses in Tabuk, Kalinga late Monday night.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said although most residents were able to scamper for safety before the mudflow and before boulders rammed their homes, the landslide isolated the towns of Pasil, Lubuagan, Balbalan and Tinglayan in the northern part of Kalinga.
Damages to properties were estimated at P13.9 million.
OCD Regional Director Vicente Tomazar said those killed during the landslide were Claudine, 11, and Allen Mark Carpio, 5, of Balani, Tabuk.
Their mother Aida, 39, sustained a fractured hip, while another son, Roderick, 15, suffered injuries on his left foot.
Initial report from the OCD-Kalinga office said Tuesday that soil and boulders fell on a portion of the national highway at around 10 p.m. on Monday, following a slight tremor.
"Most of the residents were able to run for safety but the Carpio family was the most affected because their home was near the creek where the mud and boulders flowed, sweeping through their house and preventing them from running for safety," Tomazar said.
Kalinga-OCD coordinator Cristeta Reyes said that since the whole Carpio family was already asleep at the time, the father, Salvador, only had time to rescue his wife and elder son.
When he returned to save his two younger children, they were already killed. They were pinned down by boulders that swept through their home. Salvador was also injured in the process.
The injured victims were rushed to the Kalinga Provincial Hospital for treatment. The remains of the two children were transferred to the day care center in the barangay and watched over by their father after the catastrophe.
Reyes said Tabuk Mayor Camilo Lammawin called her immediately after hearing about the incident from a resident and instructed her to dispatch a search and rescue team to the site.
As of press time, damage to the national road there was pegged at P10.2 million, P1.5 million to private houses, P1.2 million to a school building and P1 million to the church, or a total of P13.9 million. (Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)
(August 9, 2006 issue)
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