. / AFP PHOTO / ALAN TANGCAWAN
(Eagle News) — At least 25 persons are now confirmed dead after being buried in a landslide in Naga City in Cebu province as of Friday, Sept. 21, as more bodies are recovered during continuous search and rescue operations in the site’s “ground zero.”
There are also more than 50 still missing in Sitio Sindalan, barangay Tinaan, Naga City, according to a report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Rescuers also hope they would still be able to rescue more individuals trapped in the landslite. As of last night, they were able to rescue a child, who managed to survive, despite being buried in the rubble.
As of 10:20 p.m. Thurday, at least eight persons have been rescued from the rubble.
Among the identified fatalities were Beatrice Hope Chavez, 4 years old; Olivia Meneses Maratas, 63 years old; Annabel Lobiano,40 years old; Romeo Jabonilia, 40 years old; Francisco Yopac, 60 years old; Michael Versales,16 years old; Mark Laurence Campanilla,3 years old; Vianca Versales, 19 years old; Raul Gepuit, 47 years old; Laura Capoy, 52 years old; Baby girl Campanilla; Juanito Siton, 43 years old; Emiliana Siton, 85 years old.
Among those who were rescued and who sustained injuries were Rose Ann Lobiano, 40 years old; Christopher Cemellar, 44 years old; Nestor Capoy, 52 years old; Junalyn Siton, 16 years old; Jocelyn Siton, 38 years old; Basilla Omambac, 58 years old; Sidney Ravanes, 35 years old; and Babyjane Ravanes, 8 years old.
Gary Cabotaje, a city government spokesman said that responders in the area had to be careful during the search and rescue operations because of the very loose soil and rains in the area.
Residents in the area had reported fissures in the area near the quarry site about two weeks ago.
At least 22 people were killed and 14 homes buried early on September 20 in the central Philippines when heavy monsoon rains unleashed a landslide in a rural farming community, authorities said. / AFP PHOTO / ALAN TANGCAWAN
The NDRRMC said a total of 14 houses were totally damaged.
But other reports said that 20 to 25 houses were totally covered by the rubble.
“Even four-storey houses are buried,” said witness John Rhay Repuesto Echavez, who also saw the human toll of the slide.
“(My neighbour) was crying right in front of her sister’s house. There was nothing left, not even the rooftop was visible,” he told AFP. “Her sister’s whole family was buried.”
Injured survivors were wheeled into the back of ambulances and the dead were laid on pews at a local church.
There are more than 100 rescuers on the site using backhoes (excavators) and other heavy equipment.
The landslide affected an area of 80 hectares in barangay Tinaan where 300 families reside. These families were temporarily relocated in seven evacuation centers.
At least 585 families from Sitio Sindulan and from nearby sitios or villages have been relocated.
Naga City Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong is asking the city council to declare a state of calamity.
Civil defense officials in the region said landslides are fairly rare on Cebu, an elongated island with low hills that did not take a direct hit from Mangkhut.
The new tragedy comes just days after 2018’s most powerful storm, Typhoon Mangkhut, pounded the nation’s north with heavy winds and rain, sparking a separate landslide that left dozens dead.
(with reports from Irene Sino Cruz, Eagle News Service correspondent in Cebu, and Agence France Presse)
