Heavy rains due to shear line cause floods, landslides in Bicol amid Christmas

Heavy rainfall brought by the shear line resulted in flooding and landslides in several areas of the country.

According to a 24 Oras report by Ian Cruz on Thursday, two landslides occurred along the Maharlika Highway at Santa Elena, Camarines Norte on Christmas Day due to two consecutive weeks of heavy rain.

“Pasulpot-sulpot lang po ang dating ng ulan, pero malakas. ‘Yun ang nakakapagpahina ng pundasyon ng lupa kaya siya ay nagla-landslide,” said resident Christian Potes.

(The rain is intermittent, but strong. That is what weakens the foundation of the soil and causes a landslide.)

Heavy rains are also being experienced in Labo up until Thursday afternoon.

Due to the landslides, only one side of the road is passable along the Andaya Highway in Barangay Cabutagan of Lupi town.

Only light vehicles were allowed on parts of the road due to an ongoing clearing operation by the Department of Public Works and Highways, who assured that they would fix the road as soon as possible to avoid causing heavy traffic.

“Hindi siya kaya ng mano-mano ng tao kasi delikado nga. May mga puno pa, baka bigla pa siyang gumuho pag nagtuloy-tuloy ang ulan,” said DPWH Santa Elena Section Engineer Fiel Solares.

(We can’t do it manually because it’s dangerous. There are still trees that might suddenly collapse if the rains continue.)

“May kahabaan kasi itong ginagawa, pero pinipilit po naming matapos bago mag Bagong Taon. Naresolve na po natin yung congested na traffic diyan,” added DPWH Region 5 director Virgilio Eduarte.

(The area under construction is pretty long, but we are aiming to finish it before the new year. We have resolved the congested traffic in the area.)

Meanwhile, one man and his buffalo died afterthey were swept by floods while attempting to cross a spillway at Barangay San Vicente on Christmas Eve.

Before he went missing, victim Angelito Gutierrez said that he was going to a coconut farm near the mountain.

Due to the heavy rain, floods at the spillway reached up to waist level.

“Talagang masakit sa puso kung tanggapin… Wala na akong magagawa, nandoon na siya. ‘Yung mukha nga niya hindi ko makita. Nakatagilid ang ginawa. May amoy na, tinakpan ng tarapal,” said the victim’s father, Ruben Gutierrez.

(It really hurts my heart to accept what happened… I can’t do anything else, he’s already gone. I couldn’t even see his face. He was on his side. There was already a smell, and they covered him with a tarp.)

The victim’s body was found at the Bagtas River in Barangay Oliva, Basud 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Other roads in Limanan were damaged because of exposure to heavy rain.

In Barangay Magsaysay at Infanta, Quezon, a fallen tree and boulders from a landslide obstructed the road.

A similar incident was reported in Real, while mud covered roads in Libon, Albay.

Residents and motorists were forced to tread through floodwater in Dilasag, Aurora.

Baco, Oriental Mindoro has declared a state of calamity after days of heavy flooding due to continuous rain brought by the shear line, while two barangays in Laguna had already been affected by floods that destroyed crops and inconvenienced motorists. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News