Another sinkhole found in Cebu town

Another sinkhole was found in Dalaguete town in southern Cebu while a 20-meter crack was reported near a school in Ginatilan town, days after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the islands of Cebu and Negros on February 6.

Police cordoned off the sinkhole in Sitio (sub-village) Carpo, Barangay (village) Casay in Dalaguete, 85 kilometers south of this city, to prevent people from getting near the place for fear that it might get bigger.

A cattle raiser informed the barangay chair, Joseph Belamia, about the small sinkhole on February 8. Last week, Belamia said the sinkhole’s diameter grew by 10 meters and swallowed some 30 banana plants.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has yet to measure the depth of the sinkhole found earlier in Barangay Cambuang in Dumanjug town. The sinkhole has a diameter of 20 meters.

MGB regional personnel led by Abraham Lucero Jr., a senior science research specialist, also checked the swirling seawater located about 50 meters from the shoreline in Barangay Looc, 3 km from Cambuang, which alarmed residents likened to boiling water. But they failed to see the unusual occurrence because of high tide.

The earthquake might have affected the shallow aquifer in the area and resulted in water coming out at the offshore in Looc, Lucero said. Similar events have been occurring in some parts of Cebu, such as Barangay Tubigagmanok in Asturias town in northwestern Cebu and El Pardo in Boljoon town in southeastern Cebu, he added.

Inspector Christopher Castro, Ginatilan police chief, said the narrow crack at a cornfield in Barangay Anao was around 100 meters from Anao Elementary School. He said the occurrence was already reported to Ginatilan Mayor Antonio Singco so that an assessment would be made to ensure the safety of pupils.