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CEBU CITY, Philippines ? Some of the 41 families who are living in the danger zone of a landslide-hit district in a mountain barangay (village) of Cebu City have left their houses and temporary settled to a safer ground.
Sinsin barangay Captain Ramon "Jun" Ylaya Jr. said Sunday that a few of the affected residents in Sitio (district) Nangka, Barangay Sinsin, who were advised to leave the area immediately because of the danger of more landslides, had left the area.
Ylaya said barangay officials and tanods helped one family move their nipa hut from the area to a nearby sitio after the family agreed to transfer.
He said that some residents temporarily left their homes and constructed a temporary hut in a nearby sitio.
Ylaya however said that other residents refuse to leave because of the absence of a relocation site.
Barangay Councilor Timmy Tabada, who also lives in Sitio Nangka with his family, said at least six families should be forced to evacuate because their houses are within the danger zone.
Tabada said his father and his brother's families are also living in the area.
Tabada said they are looking for a place to transfer because the direction of the cracks on the ground is leading to their house and store.
He said he plans to build a temporary hut in sitio Latawan, where most residents will temporarily stay.
?Di man sab mi kabiya dayon sa among tindahan kay anugon kayo. Adto lang mi mopahuway sa among tukoron nga payag-payag (We can't leave our store. We'll just stay temporarily on the hut that we will build on another sitio),? Tabada said.
City Councilor Roberto Cabarubias, who visited Sinsin on Sunday said that he will help convince the residents to evacuate because it is the recommendation of the City Disaster Coordinating Council and the representatives of Mines and Geo-Science Bureau who attended the meeting of the CDCC last Friday.
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, action officer of CCDCC assured that he would fast track the release of the financial assistance of the 41 residents of Sitio Nangka so that they could use it for the expenses of their transfer.
The CCDCC agreed to give P5,000 each as financial assistance for the affected residents in Sitio Nangka after decided with the recommendation of the MGB that the residents should be evacuated as soon as possible.
Carillo said that once the residents evacuated, the barangay will be cordoned and areas will be identified as danger zones, where warning signs will be put up.
Abraham Lucero Jr., senior science and research specialist of MGB on Sunday, that the residents who stay in the danger areas are putting themselves in a risky situation because a landslide may occur anytime especially when it rains.
Lucero said that on Tuesday the agency will start a geo-hazard mapping to identify more areas in Sinsin to be declared as danger zones.
He said their inspection last Thursday was just a rapid assessment and there is a need to conduct a mapping in the entire Barangay Sinsin because they saw cracks almost everywhere in the area.
As of Sunday, Ylaya said the landslide area has become bigger.
He said that the area where Carillo, representatives of the MGB, barangay officials and members of the media inspected earlier in the week had already collapsed.
?Nagkadako na gyud ang na collapse ug visible na kaayo ang mga liki sa yuta (There are more areas that had collapsed and more cracks on the ground are seen in areas in the barangay),? Ylaya said.
Documents of the results of the rapid assessment of the MGB from Carillo, who furnished a copy, showed that water could easily seep into the bedrock of the sloped area during rainy periods.
The report said the fractured bedrock may not have the capacity to absorb more rain water. This could trigger another landslide.
The report also showed that the accumulated soil in the crown area caused by the previous landslide may further move downslope once a heavy rain will occur. /Correspondent Chris A. Ligan
