Landslide in Baybay City, Leyte reached beyond danger zones, safer areas —NDRRMC

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Wednesday said the landslide in Baybay City, Leyte went beyond hazard prone areas and places considered as safe.

At the Laging Handa public briefing, NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said some residents actually evacuated to these supposed safe areas but they were still affected by the landslide.

“Parang lumagpas 'yung landslide doon mismo sa hazard prone areas at naabot 'yung mga relatively safer part of the community, supposedly safe, kung saan 'yung ibang mga kababayan natin ay nagtuluyan doon para makaalis doon sa mapanganib na lugar pero hindi nakita na pati sa location na 'yun aabutin ng landslide,” he said.

(Tha landslide went over the hazard prone areas and reached a relatively safer part of the community, supposedly safe, where some of the residents have evacuated but they did not expect that the landslide would reach that location.)

He pointed out the NDRRMC had issued warnings prior to the onslaught of Tropical Depression Agaton.

Local governments including Baybay are tasked to enforce these warnings to concerned residents, Timbal said.

A total of 48 fatalities have been reported so far in Baybay City, Leyte due to the onslaught of Tropical Depression Agaton (international name: Megi) as of Wednesday morning, the city government said.

According to the NDRRMC, 37 of the reported fatalities were due to the landslides in Baybay City.—AOL, GMA News