• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As progressing landslide continues at Camp Valdez in Barangay Mambaroto, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, new ground cracks were also discovered along the national highway’s concrete canal.
Dionelo Bogta-e, coordinator of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), said on Tuesday, Oct. 28, this prompted them to regulate the passage of trucks carrying heavy loads.
Bogta-e said they deployed personnel to ensure the smooth flow of traffic and the affected areas have also been cordoned off.
Initial findings of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) showed an active slump-type landslide, with multiple north-northwest trending cracks, which measures 10 inches wide and nine feet deep uphill, with seepages and groundwater flow detected during the survey conducted on Oct. 18 and 19.
On Oct. 26, the MGB discovered the cracks widened significantly to one meter while more new cracks, with vertical displacement that exceeds one meter, were also found.
The affected area is being estimated by the MGB at 4,967 meters.
Mass movement is actively progressing, especially during heavy rainfall, according to the MGB.
MGB has recommended the immediate assessment of the highway structural integrity, and for the Department of Public Works and Highways to implement mitigation measures.
A sinkhole triggered the mountain slope cracks and landslides at Camp Valdez.
MGB-Negros Island Region Director Benigno Cesar Espejo earlier said that the surface of the area where the sinkhole formed consists of limestone, which may have been weakened by heavy rainfall and recent earthquakes. | GB
