Mudflows hit Sorsogon villages

LEGAZPI CITY — Two hours of heavy rains triggered a flash flood and mudflows, forcing 22 families or 115 people in three barangays in Irosin, Sorsogon to flee their homes the other day.

Eighty-one residents of Barangays Patag and Rangas were rescued by a joint team of the Irosin and provincial police and the municipal disaster coordinating council led by Inspector Elmer Conchas after swirling volcanic mud from the slopes of Bulusan Volcano swept away 10 houses along the riverbanks, said Arnel Capili, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense.

Capili said 34 other people in Barangay Cogon were also evacuated after heavy rains loosened boulders and triggered mudflows from the slopes of the restive volcano.

"There were no reports of injuries or casualties," he said.

Capili said eight other houses were damaged in Barangay Patag and six more in Barangay Cogon.

In a bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) station in Barangay Cabid-an said a muddy stream flow was observed in Barangay Cogon from 9:30 a.m. Wednesday to Thursday morning.

The mudflow, according to Phivolcs, deposited about six inches thick of sediments in the tributary leading to the Gulang-gulang River.

Irosin police chief Elmer Conchas said heavy rains lasting for a couple of hours gave way to lahar about three feet thick.

"The mudflow was only five meters away from Barangay Poblacion," he said.

Conchas said the rescue team put up sandbags and other temporary barriers to prevent the mudflow from reaching the populated area.

Hilda Martinez, Irosin municipal social welfare development officer, said four trucks were on standby to evacuate the threatened residents.

Martinez said the affected families in Barangays Cogon and Patag were provided with food and used clothing.