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Signs of life detected under Cebu landfill landslide —mayor
Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival on Tuesday said signs of life have been detected beneath the landfill site in Barangay Binaliw where a landslide occurred last week.
“Yesterday, there was this Apex Mining, mayroon silang equipment na nagpakita na mayroon parang signs of life. So kaya nga, although 72 hours nang nag-lapse we are still on the rescue mode,” Archival told GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita in an interview.
(Yesterday, there was this Apex Mining, they had equipment that showed signs of life. That’s why, although 72 hours have passed, we are still on rescue mode.)
Archival said that the rescue and search operations have sped up when new equipment arrived. He acknowledged that rescue efforts initially progressed slowly due to safety risks at the site.
“Sabi nila we should be very careful because doon sa ilalim may gas leak. The other one is yung building is made of steel and they are interconnected. If we lift some parts of the building baka maipit yung mga tao na nasa ilalim,” he added.
(Rescuers said we should be very careful because there is a gas leak underneath. The other one is that the building is made of steel and then they are interconnected. If we lift some parts of the building, the people underneath might get trapped.)
“The other one is the equipment that we are using is not that big. Mga maliliit lang. It is very dangerous going very near because you know baka mayroon na namang landslide. Two days lang dumating yung equipment na malalaki so yan medyo mas napabilis natin,” the mayor said.
(The other one is that the equipment that we are using is not that big. It is just small. It is very dangerous going very close because you know there might be another landslide. The big equipment arrived two days ago, so we are now faster.)
Death toll, injuries
The number of fatalities in the landslide has increased to 11, according to the city fire station on Tuesday.
In an update as of 5 a.m., Cebu City Fire Station spokesperson Senior Fire Officer 3 Wendell Villanueva said 25 people remain missing.
A total of 12 people were also reported injured in the tragedy.
Since Thursday afternoon, search and rescue operations have been conducted following a landslide at the landfill site in Barangay Binaliw.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Central Visayas has issued a cease-and-desist order against Prime Integrated Waste Solutions, Inc. (PWS), the operator of the landfill.
Prime Waste Solutions Cebu earlier said it is “working closely with relevant government agencies and the local government to provide the necessary assistance and support to all those affected by the incident.”
Possible causes
Archival said that the earthquakes and heavy rains in the recent months are among the possible factors that weakened the base of the landfill that later collapsed in Barangay Binaliw.
“Noong January 8, yung weather sa Cebu maganda naman. It was believed during the time ng earthquake at ulan yun ang nagpahina sa base,” Archival told GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita in an interview.
(On January 8, the weather in Cebu was good. It was believed that during the time of the earthquake and rain, the base weakened.)
The mayor recalled that Cebu was hit by an earthquake in September last year while Tropical Cyclone Tino in November brought heavy rainfall to the area, he also noted.
“Mayroong bagyo na Tino. Yung bagyo is not that strong ang winds pero yung tubig masyadong malakas. It is also believed during that time yung tubig nag-percolate towards doon sa landfill because yung landfill parang espongha iyan e. So, yung tubig nag-percolate towards the base and then it also adds the movement sa ilalim,” he added.
(There was Tropical Cyclone Tino. The winds were not that strong but the rainfall was heavy. It is also believed that during that time the water percolated towards the landfill because the landfill is like a sponge. So the water percolated towards the base, and then it also added the movement at the base.)
He also said the portion that collapsed was the sorting area, which functions like a material recovery facility and is made of steel structures.
According to Archival, these buildings are located roughly 25 meters away from the edge of the landfill.
“So at the end para siyang may retaining wall. So from that retaining wall, it looks like a mountain parang nag-sloping going up,” he said.
(So at the end it looks like it has a retaining wall. So from that retaining wall, it looks like a mountain as if it were sloping going up.)
The mayor noted that the investigation into the cause of the landfill landslide has not started yet, but the matter has been discussed during a meeting with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, landfill owners, and rescuers. —Joviland Rita/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
