Closure of Cebu waterfalls sought as flash flood kills 3

RESCUE OPS: Residents brave the strong current to rescue three persons swept away by a flash flood at Tinubdan Falls in Catmon, Cebu, on Sept. 26. —PHOTO COURTESY OF CATMON POLICE STATION

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — The Cebu provincial police is seeking the closure of the waterfalls in Barangay Tabili, Catmon town, following the death of three persons who were swept away by rampaging water while swimming there on Sunday last week.

Col. Englebert Soriano, Cebu police director, said they learned that the municipal government had not issued a permit to any person or group to operate or allow visitors to Tinubdan Falls.

“We want to know who ordered the reopening of the waterfalls to the public,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.

Soriano stressed that someone should answer for the death of the three persons, whose bodies were recovered by rescue teams and fishermen. The victims were part of a group that went to Tinubdan Falls on Sunday to attend a family reunion.

While swimming, raging water from the mountains caused the river to swell, sweeping family members in the waterfall area.

The body of 17-year-old Kent Jude Monterola was recovered in a culvert in Barangay Flores, Catmon, about 14 kilometers from the waterfalls at 9:58 p.m. Sunday.

About 12 hours later, a team of rescuers found the body of Princess Alastra, 7, in Barangay Duyan, Catmon. Her mother, Jacel Alastra, 32, was found by a fisherman, floating in the sea between Carmen town and Camotes Island on Tuesday.

Restricted entry

Soriano said policemen were sent to the Tinubdan Falls to restrict entry into the area. Signs prohibiting swimming in the waterfalls were also put up.

Catmon Councilor Dan Modiquillo Jusay said the path leading to the falls is privately owned.

“The government has not given any permit for the private owner to open the waterfalls to the public,” he said.

Wilson Ramos, information officer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, advised people to be careful and alert in detecting changes in water level and current when swimming in rivers and waterfalls.

“No major weather system was monitored, such as storms, but there were localized thunderstorms [in] Catmon and other northern portions of Cebu [that day],” he said.

“Let’s always have a presence of mind. Keep a lookout for our surroundings. For example, when you notice the water in a river or in a waterfall gradually becoming muddy, that’s an early sign of an incoming flash flood,” Ramos said.