5 dead in new landslide in Diwalwal
By Frinston Lim, Orlando Dinoy, Eldie Aguirre, Dennis Jay Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:54:00 11/22/2008
Filed Under: Landslide, Regional authorities
TAGUM CITY – At least five persons, including a child, were confirmed dead while several others remained unaccounted for following a second landslide in the mining village of Mt. Diwata in Monkayo, Compostela Valley late Thursday, authorities said.
As a result of the deaths, provincial officials said they were considering the idea of forcibly evacuating residents from landslide-prone areas of the gold-rich village to prevent the further loss of lives.
The body of 6-year-old Crisna Daug was pulled out of a debris of mud and boulders that covered a portion of Sitio Depot at around 6 p.m., 30 minutes after the avalanche took place, according to Josephine Frasco, provincial social welfare officer.
Monkayo Vice Mayor Avelino Cabag said four other bodies were retrieved on Friday while an undetermined number of victims were feared trapped under tons of earth that crashed down the JB Mining area.
Missing
Compostela Valley Gov. Arturo Uy told the Inquirer by mobile phone that a team from the provincial government had already been dispatched to locate the missing victims.
The second landslide happened after an earlier landslide buried a house in Purok 17 in Tinago district, also in Diwata. Nine persons were injured in that landslide.
The landslides occurred as many parts of Mindanao were being battered by rains for days now.
Cabag said the local government of Monkayo has placed the area under a state of calamity to allow the municipality to release funds for rescue and relief efforts.
Cabag also said officials were supporting the idea of forcibly ejecting residents in landslide-prone areas of the mining village.
Previous evacuation
A similar action had already been implemented in Barangay Masara in Maco town following September’s landslides that killed 26 people.
“The important thing now is for residents in the area to relocate temporarily for their safety. Anything could happen so it’s better to be prepared,” he said.
Uy said he would be talking with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) so that an assessment could be done for the planned forced evacuations.
“I have yet to assess if the place of the incident is a mining area. We have to fast-track efforts on how to really convince these people to vacate those areas considered high-risk to incidents like this,” Uy said.
The rain-triggered landslides occurred even as MGB issued an updated list of landslide-prone villages in the Davao region.
In Malita, Davao del Sur, police said reports about a missing boy in the aftermath of the floods and landslides in several villages on Thursday turned out to be inaccurate.
Miscommunication
Chief Insp. Victorina Mendez, Malita police chief, said miscommunication was behind the false reports.
Mayor Benjamin Bautista said 540 families were displaced by the floods and the landslides.
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