In Igbaras, Iloilo; Landslide-affected residents advised to move out of area

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Four out of 13 houses in Igbaras town of Iloilo were destroyed by a landslide due to torrential rains since last week, prompting the local government to advise affected residents in the area to look for alternative and safety sites.

Igbaras town Mayor Vicente Escorpion said the affected residents in the villages of Pasong and Cale must temporarily leave their place for their safety because tension cracks were still visible near the landslide site, which according to the assessment of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Region 6 is dangerous to the people there.

Escorpion said the LGU has already extended financial assistance and food to the landslide victims, whose houses were either lost or damaged, besides the aid given by the Iloilo provincial government earlier.

Some of the affected families had already sought temporary shelter to some of their relatives and neighbors, said the mayor.

MGB- 6 revealed that more towns in Iloilo are deemed flood-prone thus it is now fast-tracking efforts to complete the geo-hazard maps of 20 towns and cities in Western Visayas, including Iloilo city and province.

MGB-6 director Leo Van Juguan said the bureau has been aiming to complete the geo-hazard maps before 2014 to help it identify what mitigating measures and disaster risk reduction program should be applied for every town classified as geo-hazardous.

Most villages and towns in Iloilo province are surrounded by rivers, the reason why most of these areas are flood prone. "With the map, MGB-6 can easily classify what measures and training to undertake and what areas can be used for evacuation," said Juguan.

According to MGB-6, the towns susceptible to landslide are Igbaras with 28 villages, Leon with 68, Miag-ao (22), Tubungan (23), San Joaquin (23), Lambunao (20), Calinog (18), Alimodian (12), Concepcion, Janiuay and Carles (10 each), San Dionisio (nine), Batad (six), Sara (five), Lemery and San Enrique (four each), Maasin (three), Anilao (two) and Barotac Nuevo, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Bingawan and Badiangan (one each).

MGB-6 has monitored 1,777 barangays in Western Visayas that were considered prone to landslides. These are just part of the 2,218 barangays from six provinces in the region.

Of these number, 522 barangays have "high" susceptible rate to landslide, 522 have "moderate" rate and 701 have  "low" susceptibility. (FREEMAN)