Coming cyclone could cause bigger landslide in Itogon town —MGB

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau on Saturday warned that a possibly bigger landslide might hit Itogon town in Benguet if the coming cyclone dumps heavy rains in the area where last Saturday's landslide struck.

Quoting MGB officials, Mark Makalalad reported on Super Radyo dzBB that if the coming cyclone —to be named "Paeng" once inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility —brings heavy rains in areas around landslide-stricken  Barangay Ucab. 

Posibilidad ng mas malaking landslide sa Itogon, Benguet, ibinabala ng Mines and Geosciences Bureau. | via @MMakalalad

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 22, 2018

MGB officials were quoted as saying that rain-soaked highways might collapse and the vibrations might trigger a bigger landslide than the one that struck Barangay Ucab, trapping  dozens of people taking shelter at a bunkhouse in and old mining site during the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong.

In a later report, Makalalad  said that an additional seven bodies were pulled from the rubble in Ucab, bringing the death toll to 39 as of Saturday morning.

Before the retrieval operation was halted Friday night, the body count was at 32. —LBG, GMA News