Due to high risk of landslides, authorities recommended the closure of a road, which serves barangays Agsungot and Binaliw in Cebu City.
Eddie Llamedo, spokesman of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7), said the closure should be implemented as soon as possible until the area is declared as safe and passable.
Llamedo said it is the local government unit’s prerogative to implement DENR-7’s recommendations.
Llamedo said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Central Visayas (MGB-7) identified the road in Lower Agsungot as an active landslide area exacerbated by an ongoing road-widening project.
He added that the presence of debris in the area might pose a risk to passersby.
Llamedo said they have also recommended mitigating measures such as benching wherein stair-like structures are built in the site to prevent rock falls and landslides.
Signage should also be put up in the area as a warning to the public.
Llamedo also pointed out that the recent volume of rainfall is greater which may have triggered landslides in the area.
In an ocular inspection of the site led by councilor Dave Tumulak last August 15, flowing water (tubod) was discovered a few meters away from a foot-wide tension crack at the upper portion of the site.
A ditch or canal where the water will flow should also be made to avoid water from seeping and worsening the soil’s condition.
Last August’s heavy rainfall may have contributed to landslides in the area. Warning signage were not installed and motor vehicles and people on foot continue to pass through the road.
Should the road be closed, the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) is ready to implement a rerouting plan.
“We will coordinate with the city engineer and the disaster team to clear the other side of the road as a detour,” said Citom operations head Joy Tumulak.
Motorists will have to pass through barangay Guba down to barangays Pit-os and Pulangbato.
Tumulak said Citom personnel were sent to inspect the area.
“Based on their report, the boundary of Binaliw and Agsungot is dangerous. The road is only five meters wide,” he said.
A Citom mobile team is in place in Talamban area in case there are reports and alarms of any landslide incidents.
“Our team has talked to habal-habal drivers because they are the ones that usually pass by the area. We told them to report any incident or alarm,” Tumulak said.
Simeon Romarate, executive director of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said they already inspected the road.
“Our plan is to do benching (similar to rice terraces) of the mountain so as the reduce landslides,” he said.
Romarate added private contractors have pledged free hauling and benching of the mountainside but work has still to start.
For the present, Romarate said the CCDRRMC is continuously monitoring any landslide alerts in the area.