More cracks in the earth have been discovered in three sitios of Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla town, yesterday   that could lead to the expansion of a 200-has. danger zone in the area, Councilor Jimmie Don Plaza said.

Plaza said a team has been sent to the three sitios to determine the extent of the earth movement and the cracks, and the danger they pose to residents in the area.

On Monday, the Moises Padilla Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council declared 200 hectares in sitios Manaol and Tigbuaya in Barangay Quintin Remo, a danger area and residents were told to evacuate, as it was still unstable for their own safety.

Three weeks of continuous rains has loosened the soil in the Quintin Remo, causing the earth to move and huge cracks to appear, destroying homes and crops.

Board Member Enrique Lacson, chairman of Sanggunian Committee on Natural Disaster and Calamities, said the three new sitios where cracks were discovered are Tios, Nakuruhan and Uway-uway.

Plaza said that if the three other sitios are considered dangerous, the danger zone in Quintin Remo could reach up to 700 has.

Lacson had said earlier that the earth loosened by heavy rains in the danger zone not only cracked but triggered a landslide that created a huge crater.

The 2,000 square meters by 10 feet deep crater, and many other smaller ones that have sprouted in the area are now filled with water, like lakes, Lacson said.

The fear is that if the water in these new “lakes” surrounded by loose soil overflows it could trigger a deadly mudslide that could endanger lives of residents in low-lying areas, similar to what happened in Guinsaugon, Leyte in February 2006, he said.

Because of the difficulty in getting heavy equipment to the area, Plaza said, it is near impossible to drain the craters to prevent mudslides.

“The best that we can do for now is to ask residents in the possible path of a mudslide to evacuate their areas for now,” the councilor said.*CPG

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