City government to evacuate those in danger zone

After the devastating landslide that struck sitio Sudlon, barangay Lahug, the Cebu City government plans to evacuate 100 families located near the danger zone and temporarily house them in container vans.

Councilor Gerardo Carillo, action officer of the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council, said he would ask Mayor Tomas Osmeña to provide the container vans for the families.

“We will have to identify the 100 families located near the danger zone and we have to have them evacuated as soon as possible,” Carillo said.

The 100 families will be allowed to stay up to six months in container vans before they will be moved to a final relocation site.

If Osmeña approves the recommendation, Carillo said the plan will be implemented immediately.

The landslide that struck Sitio Sudlon last Saturday trapped two persons, one of them a pregnant woman, at the hilly bank of the river in Sudlon. They were eventually rescued by the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation.

Many of the families have built their houses at the hilly bank of the river in an area considered a squatters area. Carillo said the residents who have returned to the area after Saturday’s incident are out of harm’s way because they are now living away from the danger zone.

The city government is currently giving medical assistance to those affected by the landslide.  — Ghea N. Sinajon, STC intern/BRP