THE ground cracks in Moises Padilla town were part of the extent of a landslide that took place back in 2009.
These were the findings of the survey conducted by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Western Visayas on the cracks discovered at Sitio Manaol in the town’s Barangay Quintin Remo in August this year.
Engineer Leilanie Suerte, supervising geologist for MGB-6, said the type of landslide at Sitio Manaol is called an "active creeping landslide."
The landslide was estimated to have a length of 2.34 kilometers and an area of 0.97 square kilometers, she said.
Suerte said the slow-moving landslide is unnoticeable on a daily basis since it only moves a few millimeters per day during dry conditions and a few centimeters to a meter during saturated conditions.
The MGB official warned that there is a possibility that the flow could be rapid when triggered by a strong earthquake.
She cited the Guihulngan landslide events which were triggered by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in 2012 with a similar situation.
Suerte said they identified at least 18 houses and structures in the area of the moving mass.
She said the landslide in the area may further progress, especially if the nearby Tig-buaya Creek is struck by flash floods during continuous heavy downpour or strong tremors.
Suerte said they passed a recommendation to the Municipal Government of Moises Padilla to declare the area as a "high risk or danger zone and no build zone."
She stressed that there is no amount of engineering intervention that could the slow-moving landslide.
All houses inside the danger zone would have to be relocated to a safer location, although using the land inside the danger zone for agricultural purposes can still be allowed, provided ample warning signs and notices should be placed.
Last month, town Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo invited both the MGB-6 and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to conduct a survey of the ground cracks in Sitio Manaol.
The invitation came after local residents in the area reported seeing large cracks on the ground, as well as soil erosion.
Town officials initially suspected that the cracks were caused by a fault line.*