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Bacolod City, Philippines Thursday, February 23, 2012
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MGB: Relocation needed in Isabela
AMID LANDSLIDE THREAT
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau yesterday recommended the permanent relocation of about 200 households living at the foot of a mountain in Barangay Maytubig, Isabela town, Negros Occidental, who are in danger of being buried by a landslide.

Dr. Leilanie Suerte, MGB 6 geologist, who led an MGB team with local disaster workers in inspecting the area yesterday, told the DAILY STAR they found a lot of loose boulders, some as big as trucks, on the mountain above the area where about 200 households or close to 2,000 residents live.

They are verifying the exact figure of residents in the area, she said.

Cracks estimated to be about 40 feet in length have also been seen on the mountain, Provincial Disaster Management Team chief Vicfran Defante also said.

The mountain is about 300 meters high with a slope of 50 to 60 degrees, Suerte said.

She pointed out that Isabela is just behind Guihulngan City on the Negros Oriental side where a landslide during the recent magnitude 6.9 earthquake killed scores of people.

An earthquake, or heavy rains in Barangay Maytubig could also trigger a deadly landslide, she said.

Suerte said she is recommending the permanent relocation of residents and, in the meantime, their evacuation if there are heavy rains.

Isabela Mayor Francis Malabor was with her during the visit to Barangay Maytubig and is aware of their findings, she said.

Suerte said she will return to Isabela today to inspect other landslide prone areas, and then proceed to La Castellana town and San Carlos City.

Defante, in a report to MGB Region VI director Leo Van Juguan, informed him of landslides and ground movements in La Castellana and Isabela following the recent magnitude 6.9. earthquake.

Defante reported that at the Banogbanog Elementary School in Barangay Banogbanog, Isabela, soil cracks were found behind the home economics building and three classrooms were damaged and are no longer used after the recent earthquake.

In Barangay Limalima, Isabela, soil cracks were found beside the waterfalls and in about three hectares of agricultural land, but residents in the area had already been relocated before the earthquake, he added.

The earthquake also affected Sitio Pipit and the centre of Barangay San Agustin in Isabela but residents had also already been relocated from the area before the earthquake, Defante said.

In La Castellana town, landslides and cracks in the soil were also noted in sitios Mercedes and Lingahub and Barangay Sag-ang proper, he said.

In Sitio Mercedes, where cracks in the soil have been noted, four households are under threat, Defante added.*CPG

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