Negros Occ starts dredging lahar-choked creek
BACOLOD CITY—The Negros Occidental provincial government has sent heavy equipment to La Castellana town to dredge waterways filled with hardened lahar from Kanlaon Volcano to prevent further flooding that is endangering lives and damaging homes.
Hardened lahar that has filled Ibid Creek in Sitio Tamburong of Barangay Biak-na-Bato caused water carrying volcanic debris to overflow and seek an alternate path damaging about 30 houses on Sunday, said Bel Ploteña, Provincial Disaster Management Program Division head.
A massive deposit of volcanic debris remained in the upper part of the creek, streaming directly from the volcano’s crater, according to La Castellana Information Officer Remuel Lajo.
Heavy rain on Sunday that caused the creek to overflow forced 68 families (223 individuals) to evacuate. For their safety, the evacuees were not permitted to return home on Monday and were staying at the Biak-na-Bato covered court and barangay hall, Lajo said.
The overflow from Ibid Creek also affected Barangay Cabacungan, he said.
Two other barangays in La Castellana were also hit by flooding. This caused the evacuation of 17 families (55 individuals) in Barangay Robles and 20 families (85 individuals) in Barangay Sag-ang, Lajo said.
The Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park Protected Area Management Board passed a resolution in March for the clearing of waterways near the volcano of hardened lahar in anticipation of the La Niña rains.
Critical work
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the provincial government sent backhoes, dump trucks, and an engineering team to the clogged creek in La Castellana on Tuesday to begin excavation work.
The need to dredge these waterways is critical to save lives and homes during the ongoing rainy season, he said.
The materials removed from the creek will be stockpiled within Kanlaon’s protected area and cannot be removed or sold for commercial use, Diaz stressed.
La Castellana Mayor Añejo Nicor noted that the affected creek, which used to be about 12 meters deep, was now almost completely filled with lahar, forcing rainwater to find new paths, which made it urgent to dredge the creek.
