Ten feared dead in Zambo mudslide

ZAMBOANGA CITY — At least 10 people were missing and feared dead in another landslide that occurred Saturday in a village in Bayog town in Zamboanga del Sur.

The landslide occurred just as rescuers were fighting against time to retrieve more survivors in a similar tragedy that struck a farming village in Saint Bernard town in Southern Leyte.

Maj. Gamal Hayudini, spokesman for the military’s Southern Command based here, said another landslide occurred in Sitio Balabag, Barangay Depor in Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur at about 7:20 p.m. Saturday, just 500 meters away from the base of the TVI Mining Inc.

Hayudini said two houses were buried by the mudflow triggered by heavy rains for the past three days.

He said about 10 people are still missing and believed to have been buried by the rampaging mudflow, based on reports of the Army’s 5th Infantry Battalion.

"The reports disclosed that there has been no sign of life as the rescue continued to locate those buried by the mudslide," Hayudini said quoting the report.

He said police and military rescuers in the area worked round the clock for the recovery of possible survivors.

Local authorities have ordered residents near the affected areas to prepare for evacuation due to the continuous heavy rains for the past days.

Residents of Taragona town in Davao Oriental were also advised to evacuate as soon as possible.

"We have advised people to flee Sitio Ugbok, Barangay Tubaon and be relocated because of the rotational slide that we have noticed in the place," Desiderio Cabanlit of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Cabanlit said cracks have been seen in high areas surrounding Barangay Tubaon, forcing local authorities to prepare the evacuation of 168 families living in the area.

The houses of at least 88 families have been ordered dismantled to prevent damage to other houses and prevent the landslide.

"In the meantime, we are looking for a place safe enough for these people to relocate," Cabanlit said.

Office of Civil Defense-Southern Mindanao chief Carmelito Lupo said precautionary measures have been implemented to ensure the safety of the villagers.

"No one is already allowed in the area during night time especially since cracks have continued to move," Lupo said.

Taragona is four and half hours away by land from Davao City while Barangay Tubaon is about one hour from the town center. - With Edith Regalado