GUINSAUGON LANDSLIDE

A huge rock slide-debris avalanche transpired in the Guinsaugon village in the Philippine province of Southern Leyte on February 17, 2006, inflicting severe damage and loss of life. This was due to a 10-day period of intense rainfall and a mild earthquake that preceded the catastrophic landslide. Guinsaugon village was very vulnerable and exposed to the threat of a landslide. For the level of exposure, the level of exposure would be a 3 as there were many people and properties that were directly affected by the disaster. The Guinsaugon village near Mt. Canabag consisted of 300 houses and facilities such as an elementary school and barangay hall. Additionally, during the disaster, 256 students and 6 teachers were attending the elementary school in the barangay while 80 women were celebrating the anniversary of the Women’s Health Association. Aside from the people, the business of the residents of Guinsaugon was also exposed, with 360 hectares of agricultural land situated near the mountain (Luna, Luna, Molina, et al., 2011). Prior to the occurrence of the disaster, there were already many factors that made the village susceptible to the disaster as their vulnerability rating is at 4. The houses in the village were situated near the fault scarp of the Philippine Fault and the bottom of Mt. Canabag. The mountain had cracks in its slope due to the heavy rains before the incident (Suwa, 2006). Moreover, the population growth of Leyte is very rapid and roughly ¼ of the population is poor with approximately 94,000 people of the 360,000 residents of Leyte having financial difficulties, causing environmental strain due to the poor having to live in hazard-prone places. These people are also given lesser livelihood opportunities, resulting in them taking risky jobs such as cutting trees on the mountain. Their families would then settle near the area and have a higher risk of experiencing a disaster. Although the local government has developed disaster reduction strategies for the community to mitigate and reduce the effects of landslides, the region has remained very prone to disasters as the strategies such as preventing soil erosion were not very effective (In the News: The Philippines Mudslide, 2021). Furthermore, municipalities such as St. Bernard in 2006 did not have rescue teams and disaster risk reduction and management offices ready (Lozada, 2015). The mountain many of the residents worked in, Mt. Canabag, is very steep, increasing the possibility of rocks rapidly falling from the mountain. It is also near the Philippine Fault, which increases the possibility for a landslide to occur due to an earthquake (Suwa, 2006).

MOST VULNERABLE BARANGAYS

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN

SAFETY TIPS AND HOTLINES