2,000 face eviction from danger zone in town

BACOLOD CITY—The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) on Wednesday recommended the permanent eviction of a community of at least 2,000 people living at the foot of a hill in Isabela town that has been tagged as highly susceptible to landslides.

Dr. Leilanie Suerte, regional MGB geologist, said MGB inspectors found signs of danger in the area—loose boulders as big as trucks waiting to roll down from the hill into a community of at least 2,000 people below in Barangay Maytubig.

Vicfran Defante, head of the Negros Occidental provincial disaster management team, said cracks estimated to be 40 feet long were also seen on the hill, which Suerte estimated to be 300 meters high with a slope of 50-60 degrees.

According to Suerte, what makes the area more dangerous was its location—it is just behind Guihulngan City on the Negros Oriental side where a 6.9-magnitude quake and landslide killed scores of people recently.

All it would take for a landslide to strike Barangay Maytubig is an earthquake or heavy rains, said Suerte.

She said local government officials must evacuate people in the area immediately when heavy rains strike.

Defante, in a report to MGB, said landslides and ground movements were recorded in La Castellana and Isabela shortly after the 6.9-magnitude quake.