5 artificial dams formed by 7.8-quake in Davao Occidental

 

By Keith Bacongco

Published Jul 5, 202

DAVAO CITY – The Davao Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has reported that five artificial dams have been formed by landslides from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake last month that blocked rivers and streams in the remote areas of Jose Abad Santos town.

However, these have not been drained due to risk of landslides and rains from the easterlies, Jayson Hontimara, chief of the planning and research division of PDRRMO Davao Occidental, said.

The PDRRMO reported seven artificial dams but only five have been documented. Two have yet to be reached for further evaluation. Hontimara said that it is still too risky to clear the artificial dams due to the threat of landslides.

“We do not have yet a timeline as to when we can drain these artificial dams because it will depend on the weather conditions,” he explained during the Regional Resilience Caravan here on Friday, July 3, organized by the Office of Civil Defense-11 and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-11.

Two are located in Barangay Butuan while the rest are in Barangays Bukid, Camalian and Sugal. They are located in the southern part of JAS, the most affected town in the Davao region.

Last week, the PDRRMO and several volunteers from different agencies drained the biggest dam that formed an artificial lake in the mountainous village of Barangay San Isidro.

Due to its size, the local government has imposed a preemptive evacuation in the downstream Barangay Nuing as it may breach anytime amid heavy rains.

According to the PDRRMO, the artificial lake had a depth of about 20 feet and an area of about 12 hectares.

Hontimara said that they cannot yet determine the size of these artificial dams as well as the number of residents affected pending ongoing validations.

Eight persons were killed, 40 injured, and 13 are still missing from the earthquake in JAS. Fatalities were due to landslides, according to the local government.

A total of 6,700 houses were damaged, 2,648 of which were totally destroyed, it added. The tremor has affected 22, 576 families and at least 4,000 of them are still in evacuation centers.