Cracks found in Ronda town

SURFACE cracks on the side of a mountain where 10 houses stand in Ronda town, south Cebu, will reprompt officials to urge residents to evacuate to safer ground.

The cracks were visible in aerial video footage of ABS-CBN News taken in barangay Vive, said operations officer Ver Neil Balaba of the Office of Civil Defense – 7.

He said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) made a geological survey and spotted surface cracks heading to 10 houses in barangay Vive.

Balaba said the 10 houses were affected by last Monday’s earthquake.

“It was quite scary. In 1996, barangay Vive was declared a danger zone,” Balaba said in Cebuano.

Balaba said once the mines survey findings are out, Ronda officials will be told to evacuate the residents there.

“They should call up the barangay captain (of barangay Vive) and discuss this with the affected families and provide a relocation,” Balaba said in Cebuano.

At the Capitol, Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale told the Provincial Engineering Office to have a structural engineer check the legislative building for cracks noticed on the wall. Correspondents Rhea Ruth V. Rosell and Carmel Loise Matus