Landslide hits Malapatan, Sarangani; 8 dead, 2 missing

A landslide on Friday morning struck a community in Malapatan town in Sarangani, leaving at least eight people dead and two others missing, the local disaster risk reduction and management office said.

The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in Malapatan said 10 individuals were smothered by the landslide.

“Itong sa walo [na patay], isa diyan naitakbo pa natin sa ospital pero dead on arrival po siya,” Malapitan MDRRMO Incident Commander and Head Mark Christopher Quiño said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(One of the eight [fatalities] was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival.)

Quiño reported that the landslide occurred on a farm 500 meters away from a community. The area is home to two families consisting of five adults, five children, and some senior citizens.

“May isang community diyan na Sitio Fundao na nasa 30 to 50 households, so itong area nila mga 500 meters away from the community oart pa rin ng isang sitio is sa farm nila… so, doon sila naabutan ng landslide po,” he added.

(There is a community at Sitio Fundao, with about 30 to 50 households. Their area is about 500 meters away from the community, but still part of the same sitio, on their farm... that is where the landslide caught them.)

Response teams were conducting search and rescue operations at ground zero in Sitio Fundao, Barangay Poblacion to search for the remaining two missing individuals.

According to Quiño, they are experiencing difficulties in their search operations because they can only access the site by foot.

“Ang nagiging challenge natin is ‘yung masamang panahon pa rin po at tsaka minor landslide,” he added.

(Our current challenge remains the bad weather and the occurrence of minor landslides.)

The Malapatan MDRRMO said they are already coordinating with the police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

As of publishing, a total of 115 households from two barangays have been affected by persistent rain and flash floods. They are now in evacuation centers, and the MDRRMO expects them to remain there for an extended period.

“Una dasal po ang kailangan namin dito dahil di pa kami nakakabangon sa lindol is meron na namang mga pagbaha dulot ng bagyo,” Quiño said.

(First of all, we need prayers here because we haven’t even recovered from the earthquake yet, and now we are facing floods caused by the typhoon.)

“... tuloy-tuloy pa rin po ang pangangailangan sa mga food packs at mga malinis na inuming tubig dahil dito po sa amin halos yung mga water sources namin is mga contaminated din po,” he added.

(...there is a continuous need for food packs and clean drinking water because almost all of our water sources here have been contaminated.)

Video from GMA Regional TV One Mindanao documented a male individual being carried by local residents away from the site and later boarded onto an ambulance along a public road.

He was said to be a 31-year-old who was rescued from disaster.

Sarangani and other parts of Mindanao has been battered by inclement weather these past days due to the effects of the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat, enhanced by Typhoon Inday. — with Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/GMA Regional TV One Mindanao/VDV/RSJ, GMA News