Three houses in Sitio Lipata, Barangay Pusok, Lapu-Lapu City were destroyed when ground softened by days of rain collapsed and uprooted a tamarind tree.

Marilou Castro, an affected resident, said that the incident took place at about 8 a.m. on September 15, 2025. She said she was in her room from night shift duty when she heard a rumbling sound.

Another affected resident, Orlando Good, found that the kitchen sink fell off, and the rubbles left a large gap on the wall of his house.

According to Pusok Barangay Chairman Ranie Emperio, the successive days of rain and wastewater from houses, that did not flow properly into the drainage line, resulted in the softening of the ground. The tamarind tree was eventually uprooted when the soft ground collapsed.

The site, Emperio said, is identified to be a property of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, but informal settlers have dwelled in the area in over 20 years and that they are members of an urban poor group.

Personnel of the Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office inspected the area immediately after the incident was reported.

Emperio revisited the site morning on September 17, 2025 along with officials from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), City Engineer’s Office, and the clearing team to put a system in place in order to avoid a similar incident.