Landslide buries 3 DPWH buildings
Five bodies retrieved, 14 survivors rescued, 10 remain missing
Typhoon “Rosita” triggered a massive landslide that buried three government buildings in Natonin, Mountain Province Tuesday, killing at least four and trapping dozens inside.
As of noon Wednesday, 14 survivors have already been rescued while at least 10 remain missing.
Rescuers scrambled to get through the mud and rocks that covered a fourstory building and two unfinished structures that housed the Mountain Province Second District Engineering Office (MPSDEO) of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Barangay Banawel.
The building was fairly new, having been inaugurated on Nov. 21, 2016.
Engr. Jonnel Emengga, chief of Planning and Design of the DPWHMountain Province who held office there, said numerous landslides and mudflows prevent the arrival of heavy machinery to facilitate the rescue operations.
At least five bodies have been retrieved Wednesday, Natonin Mayor Mateo Chiyawan said.
Natonin Councilor Rafael Bulawe, who has been designated to act as rescue and retrieval operations information officer, identified two of the retrieved bodies as Benito Falangkad Longad and Jeffrey Nagawa Salang-ey.
Emengga said he was not in the office when the landslide occurred between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“Wala kaming pasok dahil sa bagyo (Work was suspended due to the typhoon),” said Emengga who was at ground zero Wednesday helping supervise the operations.
Emengga said one of his friends, a security guard he identified as Roger Alubong, was at the building.
“Sinubukan kong tawagan sa cell phone niya, pero hindi makontak (I tried to contact his cell phone but failed),” Emengga said.
But Emengga said he saw two security guards being taken to the community hospital for treatment. He identified them as Jovel Ino Lamarin and Fritz Gerald Lumpanga.
The number of trapped occupants varies.
Ruben Carandang, director of the Office of Civil Defense of the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), said there were 31 people believed to be inside the building.
“Based on the reports we gathered, there were around 31 people composed of laborers and some evacuees from nearby houses were inside when the landslide occurred,” said Carandang.
The Mountain Province Provincial Office, on the other hand, said 20 laborers and a project engineer of two construction firms – RAF and Moment Diagram – sought refuge in the building at the height of the typhoon.
Aside from them, there were two to three security guards and six to seven local residents who were reported to have evacuated in the buildings before the Rosita onslaught.
14 survivors rescued Councilor Bulawe said that as of 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, 14 survivors have been rescued from the landslide site. Five of the survivors were identified as Joventino Lamawen, Inocencio Gollingay, Fritz Gerald Lumpanga, Jupiter Gaawan, and Jun Jun Machanum.
Lamawen, who was rescued with Lumpanga not far from the landslide site, said he survived by seeking refuge inside a culvert. He recalled that he was closing the main gate of the DPWH compound at around 4 p.m. Tuesday he saw soil slowly cascading down the mountain. This prompted him to jump into a culvert.
“Pahirapan ang pagpunta sa lugar dahil sa mga landslides at mudflows sa kalsada sa layo nitong dalawang kilometro mula sa Poblacion (As of this moment, the aforementioned site is inaccessible even by foot due to the numerous landslides and severe mudflow within the two-kilometer stretch from Poblacion Natonin to Barangay Banawel,” said Bulawe.
“The fastest and most practical route to reach Banawel will be via Paracelis. Equipment augmentation from private contractors were already requested to ensure the opening of the Bontoc-Kalinga Road at the earliest time possible tomorrow (Thursday) to allow passage of Search and Rescue teams from Bontoc,” a Mountain Province Provincial Office said in a statement.
More or less 1,000 families were evacuated before the onslaught of Rosita in Mountain Province.
Rosita death toll now 11
The five retrieved bodies brought the number of confirmed deaths to 11 due to Rosita.
Several incidents of landslides were also reported in various parts of the region, which claimed at least six more people while another one was reported missing.
In Ifugao, 48-year-old Baltazar Pinnay and his three daughters identified as 12-year-old Rexibelle, 10-year-old Rhezel and eight-year-old Rydbell died when their house in Sitio Higib, Barangay Batad of Banaue town was buried in a landslide at around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Their bodies were retrieved six hours later.
In Kalinga, five-year-old Sotera Galo died when their house in Barangay Mabilong in Lubuagan town was swept by landslide at around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Her mother was seriously injured.
Also in Mountain Province, 40-yearold Jeffrey Nangaowa was buried alive in a landslide that hit their house in Sitio Iwisan, Barangay Alunogan also in Natonin town.
In Barlig town of Mountain Province, 22-year-old Stephen Wangdali was reported missing also due to landslide in Sitio Fotay in Barangay Silangan at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
In Abra, 58-year-old Vedancio Villaruz was reported missing after being carried away by strong water current while crossing the Binongan River in Barangay Poblacion in Lacub town.
Rescuers, on the other hand, are still searching for 30-year-old Mike Saleo-an who was carried by flashflood near the Furon creek in Barangay Banawel in Natonin town.
Also severely affected by landslide were some provinces of Cagayan Valley region wherein two people were reported missing due to flashflood while two others were injured.