ILOILO CITY—The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Eastern and Western Visayas has reiterated their appeal to the local officials to take seriously geohazard assessments in preparing for calamities amid devastating floods and landslides.
MGB Western Visayas director Leo Van Juguan said loss of lives could be prevented through adequate preparation based on the susceptibility of areas to flooding and landslides.
He said the assessments provide a guide in taking courses of action such as relocating communities that are most likely to be affected by these hazards.
Roger de Dios, MGB director for Eastern Visayas, pointed out that their office had no police power to relocate or remove those people living in landslide prone areas.
“We have done our part by informing them that there were barangays in their respective areas which are prone to landslide after we have made our assessments. So, they (local officials) should do their part,” De Dios said on Friday. At least 30 people were killed and many others injured in last Thursday’s landslide in Compostela Valley, in the latest deadly landslides in mining areas.
Last month, more than 1,000 were killed, mostly residents along river banks, in flash floods in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities.
Based on geohazard assessments conducted from 2006 to 2010 of 4,053 barangays (villages) in 133 municipalities in Western Visayas, the MGB categorized 564 barangays (13.91 percent) as “high risk,” 550 (13.57 percent) as “moderate risk,” 700 (17.27 percent) as “low risk” and 2,239 (55.24 percent) as posing no risks.
High risk barangays are those with active faults or recent landslides and with the presence of numerous and large tension cracks that would directly affect the community. These areas also have steep slopes and drainage that are prone to landslide damming (barriers formed by landslides).
The moderate-risk areas are those with inactive and old landslides and those with moderate slopes and smaller tension cracks that are located away from the community.
Low-risk villages are those with low and gently sloping areas.
Among the six provinces in Western Visayas, Iloilo has the most number of villages with geohazard risks with 896 (283 high risk, 287 medium risk and 326 low risk).
This is followed by Antique with 363 (185 high risk, 95 medium risk and 83 low risk); Capiz with 196 (30 high risk, 38 medium risk and 128 low risk); Negros Occidental with 183 (28 high risk, 50 medium risk and 105 low risk); Aklan with 130 (30 high risk, 64 medium risk and 36 low risk); and Guimaras with 46 (8 high risk, 16 medium risk and 22 low risk).
In terms of number of areas categorized as high and medium risk relative to total number of barangays, Antique had the most areas with 280 (47.29 percent), followed by Iloilo with 570 (30 percent) and Aklan with 94 (28.92 percent).
The MGB said advisories were given to barangays on the geohazard status/vulnerability of their area based on the assessment. The assessments were also disseminated to chief local executives and government agencies.
In Eastern Visayas, MGB identified 2,531 of the 3,198 barangays as “susceptible” to a landslide incident.
In Biliran, 99 of the 113 assessed barangays were considered to be landslide prone; 219 of the 373 assessed barangays in Eastern Samar; 645 of 891 barangays in Leyte; 386 of the 490 barangays in Northern Samar; 728 of 862 barangays in Samar and 545 of 469 barangays in Southern Leyte.