102 Iloilo villages in 'high-risk' landslide zone, 9 major rivers 'heavily-affected'
A total of 102 barangays or villages in the Provinces of Iloilo face the possibility of a major landslide following recent assessment made by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here.
In a post-Typhoon Frank report, The News Today (TNT) learned that said villages are located in six Iloilo towns.
Leon, Iloilo has the most number of "highly-susceptible" areas numbering to 61 sites followed by Tubungan, Iloilo with 17 barangays.
Typhoon Frank caused a landslide in Barangay Igtuble where two were killed. Landslides were also reported in barangays Igdampog Sur, Lanag Norte, Jona and Morcelas.
The town of Lambunao has eleven "high-risk" barangays followed by Calinog with eight. While DENR found three villages in Maasin and two in Janiuay, Iloilo as likewise in danger of a landslide.
Earthquakes from way back in 1983 and 1997 played a major role in the destabilization of the land area covered by the said barangays rendering the soil and rock formation here "very fragile and unstable."
The yearly typhoons made it worse thereafter, particularly the Typhoon Frank which brought a massive devastation and widespread damage.
Meantime, nine major river systems of Iloilo and Antique suffered heavily in the onslaught of Typhoon Frank.
Included in the DENR report were Sibalom River passing through the Iloilo towns of Tubungan, Leon and Tigbauan, Aganan River through Second District towns of Alimodian, San Miguel and Pavia, Suage River by Janiuay and Pototan, Tigum River through Maasin, Cabatuan, Sta. Barbara, Pavia and Iloilo City and the Jalaur River through Calinog, Dingle, Pototan, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas and Leganes.
In Antique, river systems of Dalanas, Paliwan, Cangaranan and Sibalom were also heavily-affected.