ILOILO CITY — Six families in the upland and far-flung village of Igcatambor, Miag-ao, Iloilo temporarily moved to an evacuation center over fears of possible landslides in the area.
In an interview Tuesday, Ronan John Austria, head of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), said that Mayor Macario Napulan ordered the “forced evacuation of these families on Sunday as a preemptive measure.”
“There are some areas in the barangay (village) that have cracks on the soil. While there has been no landslide yet, the order of the mayor is for the safety of the residents,” he said.
Austria said some of these families, composed of more or less 30 individual residents, evacuated to the Igcatambor Elementary School while others decided to stay with their relatives in nearby villages.
He said they continue to monitor the area, along with other villages in their town. “The upland villages of our town are prone to landslide when there is rain, be it not really heavy but sustained or continuous rain,” he said.
Austria said personnel of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau 6 (Western Visayas) are expected to visit Igcatambor within the day to check the area where the ground cracks were found.
“They will clarify things out. They will check the situation and the possibility of landslide,” he added.
Austria said they will lay down their plans for the area based on the recommendation of MGB-6. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
