The Negros Occidental Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO) has advised residents of Barangay General Luna in Toboso town to stay alert after more ground depressions were observed in its two communities.
New ground cracks were identified in Sitio Bugho and Sitio Bairan during the follow-up joint assessment on March 10 and 11, conducted by the PEMO-One Stop Shop Technical Team with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Negros Island Region (MGB-NIR), Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
“Remain vigilant and immediately report any unusual ground cracks, soil movement, or similar observations to barangay officials or local authorities,” it said in a public advisory on Thursday, March 12.
Aside from new ground cracks, “several cracks during assessments were observed to have widened further, indicating ongoing ground movement in certain areas.”
“The final findings and official geohazard assessment will be released by the MGB,” the technical team said.
After the initial assessment conducted on Feb. 18, the PEMO One Stop Shop Division reported that “due to proximity to residential areas, the hazard level is provisionally assessed as high, pending detailed subsurface and geophysical investigation by MGB-NIR.”
In Sitio Bairan, the ground subsidence was initially located around 80 meters from the nearest houses occupied by five households, while in Sitio Bugho, a ground collapse was observed around 40 meters from the nearest residential area with 15 households.
Surface observations indicated that “the formations are initially interpreted as possibly karst-related ground subsidence,” the report added.*PNA
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