`Chedeng’ eases drought, but 8 killed in landslide

Heavy rains brought tragedy to a small mining town in Compostela Valley, and hope to parched farm communities in Central and Northern Luzon.

In Maco, Compostela Valley, eight people died and two went missing when a landslide triggered by heavy rains ravaged a riverside barangay at past noon yesterday.

The victims were identified as Avelino and Romani Cayetano and 12-year-old Geraline Cayetano, Patria Jayar, and four members of the Carreon family – Annie, Angelito Jr. Joey and Aiza. Reported missing were Marissa Par and Julmer Carriaga. A certain Eumar Cayetano suffered injuries and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

Maco is one of two areas in Southern Mindanao known for their rich gold ore deposits. The other is Mt. Diwalwal in the neighboring town of Monkayo where US actor Josh Hartnett and a Hollywood movie outfit are filming the detective thriller “I Come with the Rain.”

A new gold-rush site in Mt. De Oro in Maco had recently attracted a huge number of small miners despite a government ban on mining. Apex Mining Corp., partly owned by the UK-based Crew Gold, operates in the nearby Masara gold mine.

Southern Mindanao regional police command director Chief Superintendent Andres Caro said the landslide covered part of Sitio Riverside, Barangay Masara in Maco. The Office of Civil Defense said the landslide destroyed at least 10 houses. Search and rescue operations were underway as of press time.

Witnesses said the earth gave way on a hillside that had been loosened by several days of rain.

Rains bring hope

In Nueva Vizcaya, the downpour sparked rejoicing among farmers even if the rains were not enough to significantly raise the water level at Magat Dam in nearby Isabela province.

Magat Dam irrigates more than 100,000 hectares of farmlands in the region, particularly in Isabela, the country’s top producer of rice and corn.

“Thank God, it’s raining. At least our dried farmlands are rejuvenated,” a rice farmer in Solano town said.

“Hopefully, the rains signify that things are already back to normal and that we will still be able to have a bumper harvest,” a farmer in Villaverde town said.

There will be more rain in the coming days to keep the farmers’ hopes alive.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services or Pagasa said tropical storm “Chedeng” (international code name Pabuk) is expected to intensify into a typhoon tomorrow and bring more rains in Luzon. A weather disturbance is considered a typhoon if it has maximum sustained winds of more than 117 kph.

Two to three typhoons are expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility this month.

But Nathaniel Cruz, Pagasa weather branch chief, said that based on its direction the storm would not directly affect any part of the country.

He said the storm would enhance the southwest monsoon (habagat) but would not bring enough rains to raise the water level at Angat Dam and other reservoirs.

Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan supplies 97 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila as well as the irrigation needs of most of the farms in Central Luzon.

In Baguio City, the rains brought by Chedeng raised hopes for an end to the dry spell but weathermen cautioned residents against expecting too much.

Local Pagasa weather chief Joseph Rios said the 22.2 millimeters of rain over the weekend seeped through 10 inches of Baguio’s soil – enough to satisfy the water needs of households but not the requirements of power and agriculture.

“It is still not enough to fill up the Binga Hydroelectric Plant in Itogon town, Benguet and the San Roque Dam in San Manuel, Pangasinan,” Rios said. “Even 100 millimeters (of rain) will not be enough.”

In July, only 200 millimeters of rain fell on Baguio, way below the month’s average of 800 millimeters. “We need at least two tropical storms,” Rios said.

As of 2 p.m yesterday, Chedeng was 840 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes, packing winds of 95 kph near the center and gustiness of 120 kph. It was moving west northwest at 23 kph.

Chedeng is expected to be 470 kms east-northeast of Basco this morning.

Pagasa said the seas are expected to be rough in central and southern Luzon and in the Visayas due to the surge of southwest monsoon induced by Chedeng.

Critical level

The rains were a welcome respite to farmers but they barely affected the water level at Magat Dam.

The dry spell has already damaged almost P1 billion worth of agricultural products in Cagayan Valley, with Isabela province incurring the heaviest toll.

The dry spell has affected more than 100,000 hectares of rain-fed and irrigated agriculture lands in the Cagayan Valley region, which accounts for 40 percent of the country’s palay and corn production.

The second-biggest province in the country, Isabela was the second province in Luzon to have been put under a state of calamity after La Union in the Ilocos region. Cagayan was also placed under a state of calamity followed by Quirino Province. Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Luisa Cuaresma is expected to issue a similar declaration anytime this week.

Quirino alone lost more than P60 million worth of crops due to the prolonged dry spell.

“This figure may and will probably increase if drought sustains. We passed a resolution upon my motion to seek aid from (the) national government and realign their programs to address the imminent calamity in Cagayan Valley,” Gov. Dakila Cua said.

Nueva Vizcaya, considered the region’s vegetable capital, lost more than P100 million worth of crops as a result of the dry spell.

“We are still collating data to be presented to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board) before we would formally declare the province under a state of calamity,” Cuaresma said.

The Regional Development Council called on President Arroyo over the weekend to immediately release the funds for the drought-stricken areas in the region.

The money would be used for the repair of irrigation facilities, and for funding assistance for affected farmers, and cloud seeding operations among other expenses.

Government response hit

Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of the environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, criticized the government for its alleged failure to implement a long-term and comprehensive disaster response program.

“There is a glaring lack of a long-term and comprehensive response to climate changes and their impact on the people’s livelihoods and welfare,” Bautista said.

He described the government’s disaster control efforts as “last-minute band-aid solutions.” He said the government’s response to the problem were “last minute palliatives” and reflected the Arroyo administration’s “short-sightedness, contradiction, and anti-people way of addressing environmental problems.”

“Whether the dry season will progress into drought or whether it will be followed by an extremely wet season with typhoons and heavy rains, the question is whether the government is prepared to handle the possible effects of these weather conditions on the people, among these the vulnerability to more environmental tragedies, diseases, and economic dislocation,” he said. – With Artemio Dumlao and Helen Flores