Landslide buries 30 houses in Cebu province

[Dave Hounddriver]

Landslide buries 30 houses in Cebu province

First I want to point out that this is up in the mountains and is unlikely to affect any foreigners living in Cebu.  However, it is still newsworthy.

Spoiler

A landslide struck early Thursday morning in Barangay Naalad and Sitio Sindulan in Barangay Tinaan, Naga City in Cebu province, burying some 30 houses in the area, and killing at least four people, local authorities said.

Marian Z. Codilla of the  Mines and Geosciences Bureau Region 7 told GMA News Online that the landslide occurred around 6 a.m. on Thursday. She said that two geologists from the MGB regional office are on their way to the site.

GMA News TV's News To Go reported that Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Officer Baltazar Tribunalo confirmed that the death toll from the landslide rose to four before noon.

Also Gonzales said four to five people were rescued from the landslide.

Naga City is a known mining site for non-metallic minerals, including limestone.

Earlier, Gabriel Bonjoc of Super Radyo Cebu said on Dobol B sa News TV that 10 out of 15 houses affected in Naalad and Tinaan were buried in the landslide.

However,  Chief Inspector Roderick Gonzales of Naga police said in a later that 20 to 25 houses were affected in Tinaan and 10 houses in Naalad.

As of this posting, rescuers were still unable to determine the number of people were inside the houses at the time of the incident, possibly caused by the heavy overnight rains.

Several people have been rescued and were immediately brought to the hospital.

The land on which the homes were built is owned by a cement firm.

Codilla said the agency conducted an inspection earlier after Naga City Mayor Kristina Chiong issued a cease and desist order against a cement company located at the site.

However, the MGB-7 found that the fissures at the site were not caused by mining activities.

The cracks leading to the landslide were triggered by natural phenomenon, Codilla said.

However, she said that MGB-7 already recommended close monitoring of the area, and the evacuation of residents.

Additional information would be available after the MGB geologists have reached the area for inspection.

 

[Jollygoodfellow]

I read somewhere that the President vows to stop all mining in the Philippines. I think thats out of touch with reality for example in this case it's a limestone mining area which is used in Cement. Do they want to import everything? 

Maybe they should look at where they allow people to set up homes. 

[Queenie O.]

In some areas of the province, limestone is drilled out of hilly areas of land, and from that time forward that hilly area will lay bare and vulnerable. Often these are right in the area of populated land. Most likely the land where drilling takes place might be a piece of private land, but it still puts folks at risk for future mudslides. I would tend to think that this practice is illegal, along the illegal logging in populated areas, that leads to landslides.

I'm sorry for these residents who lost family members and are displaced. Many are presently being housed at the town's sports complex .

 

[ITGeek]

I know that illegal quarries have been a big political issue, filled with the usual corruption including assassinations.  This has happened here in my province, Nueva Ecija this year.  Plenty of limestone and sand available in the Spratley's, Mischief and Fiery reefs.  Oh wait, D30 and Obama were President Xi's lapdogs until Trump took office.  Now D30 is regretting his mistake and the Chinese are becoming more belligerent.

[ITGeek]

On 9/20/2018 at 12:58 PM, Dave Hounddriver said:

Landslide buries 30 houses in Cebu province

First I want to point out that this is up in the mountains and is unlikely to affect any foreigners living in Cebu.  However, it is still newsworthy.

  Hide contents

A landslide struck early Thursday morning in Barangay Naalad and Sitio Sindulan in Barangay Tinaan, Naga City in Cebu province, burying some 30 houses in the area, and killing at least four people, local authorities said.

Marian Z. Codilla of the  Mines and Geosciences Bureau Region 7 told GMA News Online that the landslide occurred around 6 a.m. on Thursday. She said that two geologists from the MGB regional office are on their way to the site.

GMA News TV's News To Go reported that Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Officer Baltazar Tribunalo confirmed that the death toll from the landslide rose to four before noon.

Also Gonzales said four to five people were rescued from the landslide.

Naga City is a known mining site for non-metallic minerals, including limestone.

Earlier, Gabriel Bonjoc of Super Radyo Cebu said on Dobol B sa News TV that 10 out of 15 houses affected in Naalad and Tinaan were buried in the landslide.

However,  Chief Inspector Roderick Gonzales of Naga police said in a later that 20 to 25 houses were affected in Tinaan and 10 houses in Naalad.

As of this posting, rescuers were still unable to determine the number of people were inside the houses at the time of the incident, possibly caused by the heavy overnight rains.

Several people have been rescued and were immediately brought to the hospital.

The land on which the homes were built is owned by a cement firm.

Codilla said the agency conducted an inspection earlier after Naga City Mayor Kristina Chiong issued a cease and desist order against a cement company located at the site.

However, the MGB-7 found that the fissures at the site were not caused by mining activities.

The cracks leading to the landslide were triggered by natural phenomenon, Codilla said.

However, she said that MGB-7 already recommended close monitoring of the area, and the evacuation of residents.

Additional information would be available after the MGB geologists have reached the area for inspection.

 

Marked in bold the key statements in the news report.  Looks like Codilla needs to immediately resign or at least be charged with criminal negligence.  So the government agency that oversees mining operations doesn't blame it on mining activities, but a "natural phenomenon"?  The government agency then failed its due diligence in identifying "natural phenomenon" (seismic fracture/fault zone?) before approving mining permit.  They obviously did not perform a seismic survey of the area before approving permits.  The NBI should investigate Codilla's bank records, I suspect there may be some extra money in the accounts.

Edited September 21, 2018 by ITGeek

[Reboot]

What they are doing in NE Mindanao with the mining is awful. Some of those mountains are wrecked and you can see the dust coming off from islands miles away off the coast. My wife's relatives near there never had a flood impact their homes their whole lives. In the past couple of years they've had two. My sister in law's place had water almost up to the ceiling early this year. Ruined everything.