News Update

Mudslides in Leyte, Philippines

On February 17, 2006, a series of mudslides caused widespread damage and loss of life in St. Bernard, Leyte, Philippines. The landslides occurred between 9 am and 10 am following a ten-day heavy rain. More than 2,000 residents were missing or dead. The municipality of Saint Bernard was one of the worst hit areas, where more than 1,500 missing. Barangay Guinsaugon, a mountain village on the side of the municipality with 2,500 people, was almost completely destroyed. A local elementary school was buried during one of the landslides when the school was in session and full of children.

Rescue teams including troops from the military had been operating in the affected areas. However, relief efforts were hampered by rain, chest-deep mud, roads blocked by boulders, washed-out bridges and lack of heavy equipment.

Local government officials and eyewitnesses said that the area was well forested and the governor's office said that deforestation logging activities were not the causal factor, objecting to some believes that logging and mining done in the area three decades ago was the main cause of the landslides. Experts did agree that torrential rains lasting two weeks before the mudslide was the main cause for the disaster. Rainfall amounting to over 200cm in ten days loosened the soil so much that the resulting sludge and rocks thundered down the slopes of nearby Mount Canabag, virtually disintegrating it. The La Niña weather phenomenon was blamed for the non-stop rains that occurred in the province, as well as in the Caraga region, which is due south of Leyte. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded a magnitude 2.6 earthquake in Southern Leyte just prior to the landslide although the effects of this are unclear.