A HEAVY downpour on Monday, August 8, 2022, led to the collapse of a portion of the road in Barangay Malolos, Barili in midwestern Cebu.

The intense rain has caused the soil to rupture and eventually disintegrated 200 meters of national highway along the Toledo-Pinamuganjan-Mantalongon-Aloguinsan road, said Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Cebu third district engineer Suzette Nwanaka.

Nwanaka told SunStar Cebu Tuesday, August 9, that they have already informed the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) about the soil rupture situation.

The MGB will evaluate the condition of the soil and provide recommendations to DPWH for the repair of the damaged road, she added.

"The cause of the collapse was soil rupture underlying the soil strata and only the MGB is capable of analyzing," Nwanaka said.

According to Nwanaka, the initial damage to the infrastructure is P9.8 million.

Nwanaka added that one lane of the road is still passable.

She added that their office is currently looking for a possible diversion road for vehicles to pass in case the situation worsens.

The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office had already barricaded the area as some households living within the vicinity need to be evacuated, said Nwanaka. (IRT)