WHENEVER a heavy downpour occurs, rainwater is apparently not the only thing that falls to the ground in Sitio Sandayong, a hamlet in the mountain barangay of Buhisan in Cebu City.
Lado Parbak, whose family has been living in the area for two decades, said rocks have been falling from the mountaintop for the past years.
“I have to admit it is sometimes scary,” he told SunStar Cebu in Cebuano.
The Parbaks’ wooden shanty is one of several houses located along the main road.
But behind these are a dozen more houses, made nearly invisible by the thicket surrounding them at the base of the mountain.
Earthquake-caused cracks
A portion of the Buhisan River separates the residents along the main road from those living closer to the mountain.
They are connected by two makeshift footbridges made of bamboo.
Although short, the bridges are narrow and can get slippery, especially when it rains. Only one person at a time can cross it too.
These difficult passageways, though, are the least of 67-year-old Lado’s concerns.
It’s the huge crack that runs down the mountainside, a fissure brought about by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Oct. 15, 2013, that worries him.
“I’m scared, especially for the people living below it. They say it’s okay because there are a lot of trees to prevent a landslide, but they should not be complacent. Someone needs to inspect the crack,” he said in Cebuano.
Lado, however, might have to wait until Monday for the crack to be assessed.
According to Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO) chief Nagiel Bañacia, a site inspection in the area was to have been scheduled last Oct. 17, but there was already an earlier request from Pulangbato, another mountain barangay.
The site inspection, Bañacia said, will be jointly conducted by the CCDRRMO, the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7.
“Hazard areas are under our jurisdiction because we come up with mitigating measures in consultation with the barangay and affected residents. But it is the MGB that will say if it is dangerous or not,” he said in Cebuano.
Bañacia said part of the disaster office’s responsibility is to facilitate the condemnation of a danger zone, relocation or evacuation of affected residents and coming up with mitigating measures to prevent a disaster.
The site inspection on Monday is an offshoot of the request of Buhisan Barangay Captain Gremar Barete.
Barete said the crack had already been inspected, but he fears it may have widened through time.
“That’s why we sought the MGB’s help to reevaluate the area if it is really dangerous and if a forced evacuation is necessary,” he said in Cebuano.
There are 30 houses right below the slope where the crack is found. At least 300 individuals might have to be placed under preemptive evacuation.
2013 report
A December 2013 report on the geohazard assessment of the October 2013 earthquake revealed that the MGB 7 submitted a landslide threat advisory to Barete, who was also barangay captain at that time.
The earthquake had triggered a landslide in Sitio Sandayong, but there were no reported casualties or injuries. Several houses were damaged, though.
An ocular inspection showed some “series of tension cracks” that had developed after the earthquake.
A landslide also took place in January 2012. It was located about 100 meters to the west of the October 2013 landslide.
“The occurrence of several tension cracks located near the crown of the new landslide is a sign that there is a possibility of further movement and expansion of the landslide. During heavy and continuous rains, water will enter inside these tension cracks and may trigger reactivation of the said landslide,” reads a portion of the report.
Because of this, the MGB “strongly” recommended that the residents be relocated immediately to a safer, elevated and stable ground. It added that signage and permanent barriers should also be placed near the affected area.
The MGB also recommended that barangay personnel should regularly monitor movement of old and new tension cracks and landslides, especially during heavy and continuous rains.
A copy of the report was furnished to then mayor Michael Rama, emphasizing the immediate relocation or evacuation of residents living near the landslide-prone area.
“The danger is still there, and the danger was identified five years ago by MGB,” said MGB 7 information officer Marian Codilla.
According to Barete, they already identified the people who needed to be relocated, but they were reportedly uncooperative.
“They don’t want to move because they’d have to build a new house. Hopefully, the MGB will come up with an assessment that will convince them to relocate. The MGB has already informed us that they will conduct it on Monday,” he said in Cebuano.
The MGB 7 has only six geologists doing fieldwork all over Central Visayas.
Aside from Buhisan, officials of other landslide-prone mountain barangays, such as Busay and Sapangdaku, have also asked for a site inspection.