Execs in Negros Occidental town find extraordinary ground fissures

Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo inspects the fissures in Sitio Manaol, Barangay Quintin Remo in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental. (Contributed photo)

BACOLOD CITY — The mayor of Moises Padilla town in Negros Occidental has asked the secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to send a geologist to Sitio Manaol, Barangay Quintin Remo to assess the new fissures or cracks in the ground in the area.

Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo, in her letter to DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. on Wednesday, August 17, said they want to be guided on how to ensure the safety of residents.

“They want to know if the area should be declared a no man’s zone,” she said.

On August 10, after several days of rain, Yulo said residents reported new fissures, liquefaction, and landslides in different parts of Sitio Manaol.

The mayor said she personally validated this by inspecting the sitio on August 15.

She said that 18 families and houses are likely to be affected if the situation worsens.

These families were asked to evacuate preemptively.

In 2009, the same area experienced liquefaction that affected 59 families and their farms.

Liquefaction is described as a ground failure or loss of strength that causes otherwise solid soil to behave temporarily as a viscous liquid.

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