HAMTIC, Antique – A Friday night (Sept. 10) landslide in a hilly portion of Barangay Pasu-Jungao here forced 26 families (made up of 96 individuals) to evacuate to Pili Elementary School in nearby Barangay Pili.
According to the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), the landslide area was around 10 hectares.
Days of incessant southwest monsoon rains further enhanced by Typhoon “Jolina” likely softened, it explained.
There were no casualties but a house got partially damaged.
Around five hectares of land planted to bananas, coconut trees, peanuts and other root crops were damaged, too, according to the MDRRMO.
The displaced families were given food packs. They also appealed for facemasks, medicine for flu and fever, flashlights, candles, and lighters, among others.
Interestingly, Hamtic was not among the towns in Antique identified in geohazard maps of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) as at high risk to rain-induced landslides.
The towns listed were Valderrama, Laua-an, Barbaza, San Remigio, Patnongon, Bugasong, Tibiao, Cualasi, Sebaste, and Pandan.
MGB, an agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, is responsible for the conservation, management, development and use of the country’s mineral resources, including those in reservations and public lands./PN
