LEGAZPI CITY – Mayor Abelardo Arambulo of the badly hit and isolated town of Magallanes in Sorsogon is asking for help.
The seven days of continuous rainfall starting on Valentine’s Day triggered a landslide that buried alive four members of the Dayondayon family in Barangay Bacalon Thursday evening.
The landslide on the road section in Barangay Layong at the adjacent Juban town cut off the traffic to this municipality.
Arambulo said the flooding and landslide damaged the water system of the municipality, the sea wall, road network, drainage canal and dam amounting to P73.5 million.
“We have only P300,000 for our calamity fund,” said Arambulo who fears that without clean potable water thousands of the town’s residents are now at risk to waterborne diseases especially diarrhea.
Local officials were optimistic the two days of good weather from Friday to Saturday would continue despite the slow recession of flood waters in low-lying areas.
While flooding has receded in some areas in the region and road clearing is in high gear, rains started to pour anew early morning of Sunday due to the tail end of a cold front.
Another low pressure area was spotted 170 kms east of southern Mindanao.