After earthquake, Negros hit by rains, landslides

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  – Relief and retrieval operations in quake-hit areas of Negros Oriental were disrupted yesterday by heavy rains, giving exhausted rescuers temporary respite and saving them from risks of being buried in landslides.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said flashfloods and landslides threaten some parts of the country, including Negros Oriental, due to widespread rains triggered by the tail-end of a cold front.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Benito Ramos said the rains and aftershocks posed risks to rescue teams.

“It (suspension of search and rescue operations) is only temporary because of the rains. Aftershocks are also being experienced. It was dangerous. Our responders might get buried,” Ramos said.

The rain started to pour as early as 5 a.m., prompting officials to halt rescue operations in landslide-hit areas of Guihulngan City and La Libertad.

Capt. Anacito Naz, civil-military operations officer of the Army’s 302nd brigade, said half of the mountain in Barangay Planas, Guihulngan had collapsed.

“The soil condition was unstable. It was dangerous,” Naz said, adding that such condition could trigger another landslide.

Ramos said the search and rescue operations would resume this morning if weather conditions improve.

A report of the Philippine Information Agency Region 7 said about 400 soldiers of the 302nd Infantry Brigade continue to conduct search and rescue operations in different parts of Negros Oriental.

The NDRRMC previously said that the people buried in landslides in Negros have “very slim” chances of surviving.

Ramos said the huge amount of soil made it difficult for victims to survive.

The Army has placed the death toll at 48 but official data from the NDRRMC pegged the number of fatalities at 34. Of this, 13 were from Guihulngan, eight from Jimalalud, six from La Libertad, three from Tayasan, two from Ayungon, and one each from Manjuyod and Bindoy towns.

Damage to road networks was pegged at about P242 million, with affected bridges accounting for P230 million. Damaged waterworks accounted for the rest of the amount.

The incident also affected close to 12,000 families.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), on the other hand, is looking for alternative land and water routes to get the heavy equipment needed to repair the damaged roads and bridges in Negros Oriental.

DPWH Undersecretary for Regional Operations Romeo Momo admitted that one of the challenges they are facing in restoring the roads and bridges is how to get the heavy equipment across.

Such is the case of Matilo Bridge in La Libertad, one of the damaged structures visited by President Aquino last Wednesday.

“Before we can reach Matilo Bridge we would have to pass through four other bridges that were also damaged,” said Momo, adding that they are looking for alternative land routes, roads and bridges that were not affected by the earthquake, to gain access.

The DPWH sought the assistance of contractors in nearby major cities such as Bacolod, Cebu and Iloilo in transporting construction equipment via the roll-on roll-off vessels.

The transport would entail several hours of sea travel, and the cargo unloaded at the pier in La Libertad town.

Aside from the transportation problem, DPWH assessment teams have also reported that from their initial estimate of 11 bridges damaged by the tremor along the North Dumaguete Road, the number grew to 17.

The NDRRMC has estimated the damage to infrastructure in Negros Oriental at P637 million.

The damage was broken down as follows: P235 million in bridges, P55 million in public works, P242 million in roads, and P105 million in waterworks.

Relief operations ongoing

The delivery of relief goods, food, and medical supply by the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) was hampered by impassable roads.

“We need to ask the Coast Guard to ferry the relief goods to Guihulngan City,” PNRC Negros Oriental chapter head Lowella Bael said.

The goods were transported from Dumaguete City to Guihulngan via chopper and boats.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman said her agency will provide funds amounting to P10 million for cash-for-work in Guihulngan City (P3.3 million), La Libertad (P1 million), and the provincial government of Negros Oriental (P5.7 million).

“The cash-for-work is not just to clean up the areas hit by calamity but to bring back the sense of normalcy to people who experienced trauma from the disasters,” she said.

As of yesterday afternoon, the DSWD said a total of 14,675 families or 73,377 persons from 56 barangays, two cities and six municipalities in Negros Oriental were affected. Nineteen evacuation centers in the municipality of Tayasan remained open, providing temporarily shelter to 893 families.

Soliman, who joined President Aquino in Dumaguete City Wednesday, said some P12.4-million worth of relief assistance were provided to the affected local government units and families.

Approximately P2.3-million worth of non-food items from the DSWD Central Office were airlifted to Dumaguete City yesterday.

The DSWD also tapped Globe Telecom to support its communication requirements, being the only telecommunication company in the city of Guihulngan.

Last Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also sent medical supplies to Guihulngan District Hospital.

The office of Vice President Jejomar Binay and the Makati City government, on the other hand, have dispatched rescue teams and K9 units to assist in the retrieval operations in Guihulngan.

On Tuesday, Binay flew to Negros Oriental to extend his condolences to the victims of Monday’s earthquake and assess the damage to the whole province.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda also sent an 83-man mercy mission team to Guihulngan composed of doctors, nurses, paramedics, rescuers and soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines,

More relief goods are expected to be delivered to Guihulngan City and neighboring towns today.

P-Noy wants speedy rehabilitation

Meanwhile, President Aquino has instructed state agencies to support the families affected by the earthquake.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Aquino issued the directive when he visited the earthquake-hit areas earlier this week.

Gazmin said Aquino had also directed state agencies to fast-track the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure and to ensure access to clean water.

He said the rehabilitation of the affected towns would not take much time because of the assistance provided by the government.

“While repairs are being conducted, there would be temporary roads, routes, to be able to reach the areas that were hit hard by the earthquake,” Gazmin said.

Bad weather threatens tremor-affected areas

In an advisory, PAGASA said the tail-end of a cold front will bring widespread rains over Negros provinces, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Zamboanga del Norte and Surigao provinces until Saturday which may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

The rest of the Visayas and northeastern Mindanao will have scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms, it said.

As this developed, PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said a low pressure area was spotted east of Mindanao which may bring rains over the Visayas and Mindanao this weekend.

As of yesterday noon, the low-pressure area was spotted at 1,060 kilometers east of Mindanao.

“Rainy conditions will prevail over Visayas and Mindanao this weekend due to the approach of the low-pressure area,” Servando said.

The weather bureau also warned fishermen in Northern, Central and Southern Luzon and the Visayas against venturing out to sea due to strong winds and big waves associated with the northeast monsoon.

“Fishing boats and other small seacraft are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves,” it said. – Helen Flores, Evelyn Macairan, Jose Rodel Clapano, Cet Dematera, Freeman