CEBU LANDSLIDES. Houses sustain damage from a landslide in Sitio Cantipla, Barangay Sudlon 2 in Cebu City on Tuesday (June 27, 2023). The Cebu City Public Information Office said another landslide happened in Barangay Manipis that left the road to Toledo City impassable. (Photo courtesy of Cebu City PIO)
CEBU CITY – Due to intermittent rains over the weekend, a landslide occurred in two separate localities in Cebu, leaving more than 10 houses damaged with no reported casualties.
The local government units (LGU) of this capital city and its neighboring city of Talisay ordered Monday the immediate evacuation of families to their respective covered courts for their safety.
Alvin Santillana, head of the Talisay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, on Tuesday said the landslide in Barangay Manipis occurred on Monday amid intermittent rains.
Although the city government ordered the evacuation of the residents nearby, Santillana said the mountain slope where the landslide happened was uninhabited.
While the area is supervised by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Santillana advised motorists to refrain from passing the Manipis Road as some portions of the street were covered with loose soil and other debris that left the area leading to Toledo City impassable.
He said motorists can take an alternate route either via the Naga-Uling Road in the southern plains going to Toledo City or the Transcentral Highway across the upland district going to the shipbuilding town of Balamban in the west.
“As we can see, they are loose materials that appear to be saturated with water as the soil has a dark color. Maybe because of the gravity and steep slope of the mountain, the debris fell down despite there being no rain on Tuesday,” Santillana said.
Harold Alcontin, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said they are still assessing the extent of the damage caused by the landslide at Sitio Cantipla, Barangay Sudlon 2 in this city’s highland area.
The Cebu City Social Welfare Office recorded at least 13 families consisting 57 individuals displaced due to the landslide in Cantipla.
Ramil Ayuman, assistant for special projects of Mayor Michael Rama, said they distributed food packs to the affected families.
Ayuman said no injuries were recorded in the incident but advised residents to take a preemptive evacuation for their safety. (PNA)
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