Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo is asking the secretary of the Department of Science and Technology to send a geologist to Sitio Manaol, Barangay Quintin Remo in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, to assess the extent of the danger posed by new fissures or cracks in the ground seen in the area.
Garcia, in her letter to DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. on Wednesday, August 17, said she is asking for his help to guide them in their plans to ensure the safety of residents.
They want to know if the area should be declared a “no man’s zone”, she said.
Garcia said on August 10 after several days of raining residents reported new fissures, liquefaction, and landslides in different parts of Sitio Manaol.
The mayor said she personally validated this by conducting an inspection of the sitio on August 15.
Eighteen families and houses are likely to be affected if the situation worsens, she said.
The 18 families were asked to preemptively evacuate and on Wednesday 11 had responded and more would follow, she said.
An access road in the area was also affected by the fissures, she said.
In 2009 the same area experienced liquefaction that affected 59 families and their farms, and geologists had said there is a fault line in the area, Garcia said.
Liquefaction is described as ground failure or loss of strength that causes otherwise solid soil to behave temporarily as a viscous liquid.*