AN initial report of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 showed there was an abnormally high amount of rain that fell in a short span of time in the City of Naga Sunday afternoon.
"The main factor (that triggered the floods) was grabe and abnormal rainfall in a short span of time. There is a rain gauge at the crusher site," said Engr. Abraham Lucero Jr., MGB 7 Senior Science Research specialist and senior geologist.
"There were still (quarry) operations going on at that time, between 3 and 4 p.m. And in a matter of 30 minutes to one hour, the flash floods occurred," he added.
Lucero was part of the composite team sent to the City of Naga to investigate the cause of the flooding together with Mine Safety and Health Section Chief Engr. Romeo
Patalinghug.
They visited the area after three siblings and their grandmother were washed away by the flash floods in the area. An 13-year-old girl was found dead Monday while the body of her eight-year-old brother was retrieved off Bohol yesterday.
Agripina Paran, 55, and her 12-year-old grandson survived since they were able to hold on to the rocks.
"The creek was filled and the rainwater flowed into the adjacent street. The water at the time of the incident was just knee-deep but the water current was very strong and there were also rocks," said Lucero.
"The incident happened near the quarry site, about 40 meters downstream. We saw a culvert in the area but this was not enough to contain the floodwaters," he added.
Lucero said the initial report and data gathered by the team would have to be discussed with other experts at the regional office.
"We cannot give any recommendations yet at this time. What we have now is just the geological and flooding aspect," he said.
There will be a separate query on JLR Construction and Aggregates Inc. to check if they followed quarry requirements.
"We will still be discussing that at the office," he added.
Meanwhile, Niel Sanchez of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) will suggest to the officials of the City of Naga to organize a monitoring team that would regularly monitor the quarry operations in the river of Guindaruhan in Barangay Cogon.
Sanchez said Guindaruhan is one of the rivers the RDCC has identified as a geohazard site.
Sanchez will be meeting today with the officials of Naga, the city’s fire marshal and the two rescue teams in the area.
The meeting, Sanchez said, will include the inventory of rescue resources and how the government can harmonize the functions of the two rescue teams in the city. They will also study the geohazard map so the local government unit can establish the monitoring team.
Sanchez said the meeting was scheduled before the flashflood happened in the Guindaruhan River.