Rainfall, Quake Triggered Leyte Landslide

The landslide took place on February 17, at around 10am to 11am.  After more than two weeks of heavy rainfall, which hit a record of 500mm of rain and topped-off by a 2.6 intensity earthquake (that, according to some sources, happened just 5 minutes before the incident), rocks and mud cascaded from the nearby mountain, burying the village in just a matter of minutes.

By Maureen Japzon
Bulatlat

Tacloban City – The start of the La Nina phenomenon was marked dramatically with the onset of heavy rainfall triggering the horrifying landslide, which buried almost the entire community in Guinsaugon, a village of St. Bernard Southern Leyte, in the Visayas Islands in Central Philippines.  The avalanche of mud and rocks affected 375 households (with 1,875 people).  Around 1,500 residents are reportedly missing or possibly covered in meters deep of mud and an estimated 200 persons dead.

“I was in my farm that morning when I heard a sound like a volcanic eruption, then rocks and mud flowed from the adjacent mountain to my position.  In just two (2) minutes the whole village of Guinsaugon had vanished”, said a survivor.

His wife was buried alive in the landslide but fortunately his three children were with him when disaster struck.    

Also buried was the entire elementary school (grades 1-6) of the said community, which had 224 pupils, six teachers, and one head teacher.  They were holding classes when the incident occurred.

The landslide took place on February 17, at around 10am to 11am.  After more than two weeks of heavy rainfall, which hit a record of 500mm of rain and topped-off by a 2.6 intensity earthquake that, according to sources, happened just 5 minutes before rocks and mud cascaded from the nearby mountain burying the village in just a matter of minutes.

UCCP Story

In a phone interview with Reverend Pastor Jun Gulles of the UCCP, St. Bernard Church, he says that 15 members of his church were among the casualties, two teachers in Guinsaugon and 13 pupils from the nearby village Magatas.  A certain Pastor Neil Doyhakaw and his two children were also buried during the landslide.     

The UCCP church is open as sanctuary for the evacuees.  As of press time, 70 UCCP members were in the care of the local church.

Seven evacuation centers were established in nearby villages by the local government unit through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to accommodate the evacuees from the neighboring village of Guinsaugon.                                        

“The data yesterday aired in media were bloated.  Based on our own monitoring and from data provided by the DSWD here, we accounted 1,500 evacuees in different evacuation centers and 54 recovered dead bodies.  The DSWD is organizing the distribution of relief goods that had poured in, but they are in need of more volunteers. They are trying hard to handle things efficiently,” said Rev. Gulles. 

He further stated that all institutions like the UCCP church that will volunteer in rescue & relief missions must coordinate with the DSWD to avoid duplication and any misunderstanding.

Local Government Unit Information

Erna Sy Gorne, the Provincial Information Center Manager said there were 57 survivors rescued and immediately brought to Anahawan District Hospital. 

Maria Lim, Mayor of St. Bernard told the media that it is possible that some municipal officials were among the casualties since they were at the said village for the celebration of Women’s Health Day including the Guinsaugon Chieftain Absalon Libaton and some of his council members.  The identified municipal officials were Public Health Nurse Athena Letigio, Municipal Social Worker Felicidad Ilagan, and Midwife Susan Sabandal.    .

Emergency teams from the National Disaster Coordinating Council, Philippine Army, Philippine National Police, and Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) immediately responded to the call of Rosette Lerias, Governor of Southern Leyte.  U.S. Marines were also redeployed here from the Balikatan Exercise for the rescue and recovery mission. 

PNRC officials estimated the death toll at 200, with 1,500 residents still missing.

Causes of the landslide

Experts said the massive rainfall, the earthquake and the location of the village were the factors that caused the calamity to take place.

Renato Solidum, director of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, stated in an ANC interview that it needs an intensity seven earthquake to trigger a landslide but it only needs 100mm of rainfall to have a calamity.  

A statement released by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) stated that, “The affected area, which falls within alienable and disposable land (A&D), is immediately adjacent to the Philippine fault zone. Geologically, it is underlain by volcanic rocks characterized by intense fracturing and weathering which makes it unstable and susceptible to mass movement.”

It further states that “DENR Secretary Angelo T. Reyes has dispatched a team of geologists… who will coordinate with the LGUs in assessing other unsafe areas that could present possible recurrence of another landslide and in identifying areas for possible relocation sites”.

Although experts discounted illegal logging as the primary cause of the disaster, a study titled The Science of Slides by Jen Shaffer of Oregon State, believes that presence of trees can prevent the huge effect of debris flow or landslide.

Based from this study, it states “trees intercept rain, lessening the impact that individual raindrops have on soil… Roots hold soil down. Trees have larger and deeper root systems than grasses or shrubs, and are therefore more effective in retaining soil. When trees are cut though, their roots die and quickly begin to decay. As the roots rot, they lose their ability to hold soil”. 

“The tragedy in Ormoc fifteen years ago and the recent Quezon Province disaster should have provided us with valuable lessons.  Likewise, we should have listened to the cries of victims who had died in similar disasters to push us to effect changes and undertake measures that will prevent the loss of so many lives. But why are these things still happening?  Who is to be blamed?” grieved UCCP Pastor Minerva Cabas and Promotion of Church Peoples Response Chairman in Eastern Visayas.

The said organization is planning to initiate an interfaith mission to help victims of the said calamity.   Bulatlat   

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