25 families evacuated due to landslide, swollen river in Albay

LEGAZPI CITY – At least 25 families or 101 persons were evacuated to tents assembled in the basketball court of San Roque Elementary School due to a landslide caused by the swelling of Bulawan River in San Roque village of Malilipot town in Albay province.

Zeus Borromeo, head of Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said residents were evacuated early afternoon on Wednesday.

“The river was already deepening and swelling, causing the soil around it to erode,” he said.

Borromeo said the river overflowed after Typhoon “Nina” (international name: Nock-ten) hit the Bicol region on Christmas Day.

The province also experienced non-stop rain in the past few days that caused flashfloods and cancellation of classes from pre-school to high school on Wednesday.

He said a 4.6 magnitude earthquake at 2:24 p.m. Wednesday also contributed to the landslide near the river where the 25 families reside.

The local government of Malilipot has already planned to permanently relocate the affected families./rga

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