With strong rains, Marinduque dams’ collapse feared

LUCENA CITY—The abandoned mine dams of the former Marcopper Mining Corp. might collapse under the onslaught of Typhoon “Ruby.” This was the fear raised by the provincial disaster coordinator of Marinduque.

“We’re closely monitoring the condition of Tapian pit and Makulapnit and Maguila-guila dams,” Eleuterio Raza, acting provincial disaster risk reduction and management council (PDRRMC) officer, said in a phone interview on Sunday.

He said the people were scared that strong rains from Ruby could trigger the collapse of the abandoned dams as these now barely hold water.

“The weather forecast predicts strong rains along Ruby’s path. Marinduque will be surely hit,” Raza said.

Raza said several rescue teams from the PDRRMC had been put in place, ready to respond to emergencies.

“We have already evacuated 1,500 residents in low-lying areas, particularly along riverbanks and coastlines, since Saturday. Most of them have voluntarily evacuated,” he said.

Raza expressed fear that once the dam breaks, it would cause catastrophic flooding to the towns of Mogpog and Boac.

Makulapnit and Maguila-guila are among the dams of Marcopper identified to be in “imminent danger of collapsing” by the United States Geological Survey as early as 1996 or after the spill occurred.

Makulapnit dam was built to supply water for the operations of Marcopper and for household use by residents within the vicinity, while Maguila-guila dam served as the mining company’s siltation dam.

The dams were abandoned when Marcopper stopped its operation after the spill in 1996. Both dams have deteriorated.

Raza also cited studies that the east wall portion of Tapian pit of Marcopper was weakening and in danger of collapse that could cause flooding to several villages along the banks of the 27-kilometer Boac River.

The Tapian pit is a 130-hectare-wide and 320-meter-deep hole created in the process of mining copper near the summit of Mount Tapian.

Raza said that Boac River poses serious danger to residents if the typhoon brings heavy rains.

“The river is heavily silted with mine tailings deposit that can easily cause floods,” Raza said.

In 1996, the plug of the Tapian pit gave way and unleashed about 200 million tons of toxic mine tailings into Boac River.

Almost two decades after the disaster, the damaged areas have yet to be fully rehabilitated.