7th MOST LANDSLIDE PRONE

MAASIN CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources through its Mines and Geoscience Bureau has recently ranked Southern Leyte province as the seventh most critically prone to heavy landslides in the Philippines.

As the province is along the vicinity of the country’s storm corridor, strong rains and typhoons which frequently visit makes heavy landslide occurrences more frequent in Southern Leyte danger zones.

Also, man-made occurrences such as unplanned housing and infrastructure, illegal logging and soft soil occurrences, have made landslides become regular in the province, especially during the rainy season. The DENR-MGB as a result of its Geo Hazards Mapping and Assessment Program listed the top provinces and their probability percentage for landslides. Top ten landslide prone provinces in the Philippines:

1. Benguet (90.3%)
2. Mt. Province (87.1%)
3. Nueva Vizcaya (86.7%)
4. Kalinga Apayao (84.7%)
5. Marinduque (82.8%)
6. Abra (82.1%)
7. Southern Leyte (78.6%)
8. Cebu (77.8%)
9. Catanduanes (77.4%)
10. Ifugao (77.3%)
   
Aside from landslides, flooding is also a perennial problem in some parts of Southern Leyte. The tragedy that hit the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City in Mindanao may also happen in parts of Southern Leyte tagged as danger zones by the Climate Change Congress of the Philippines.

Dr. Esteban Godilano, CCCP resident scientist, said that Southern Leyte could be hit by Sendong-like floods during the first quarter of 2012 which would be the height of the La Niña phenomenon, which cools the Pacific Ocean and brings heavy rainfall. The United States Climate Prediction Center has said that this climate phenomenon may strengthen early next year. La Niña occurs every three to five years and lasts from nine to 12 months.

Besides some parts of Southern Leyte, other areas that could be hit by Sendong-like floods in the first quarter of 2012 include the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Albay, Biliran, Catanduanes, Compostella Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Dinagat Island, Leyte, Northern Samar, Quezon, Sorsogon, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Western Samar.

Environmental groups meanwhile lamented that government agencies in charge of disaster mitigation like the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) and its local counterparts seemed to exert little effort in mitigating measures and focus too late when a disaster already occurs.

According to the United Nations 2009 Global Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, the Philippines ranked as the third most disaster-prone country in the world.

On the other hand, the 2010 Climate Change Vulnerability Index ranked the country as the sixth out of 170 countries to be most at risk of impacts of climate change in the next 10 years.(By RUEVIVAR REYES)           

Other News

Illegal fireworks rampant

Hospital & Red Cross on high alert for the new year

New Year Wishes 2012

Legal community blasts Corona Impeachment

City can't afford dumpsite

Cyber crimes rising

Gaisano employee dies in crash