Taken from article: Mud and rain slow landslide rescue efforts
By Richard C. Paddock and Alex Santos, Los Angeles Times | February 19, 2006
GUINSAUGON, Philippines -- Rescue workers and soldiers searched for survivors without success yesterday in the sea of mud that covers what was a thriving village of more than 1,800 people.
Authorities said more than 1,000 of the inhabitants of this remote village on Leyte Island are missing and may have died in the landslide that struck Friday morning after two weeks of heavy rain. Rescuers, who had reported pulling 57 survivors from the muck Friday, said they did not find any survivors yesterday.
With the mud 30 feet deep, it was nearly impossible to reach buildings. With landmarks obliterated and even the tops of palm trees covered, simply finding where structures once stood was difficult.
Firefighters, soldiers, and volunteers faced arduous conditions. The mud was so soft in some places that the rescuers sank up to their waists. Unable to use bulldozers because of the unstable soil, they dug with hand tools or just their hands. At times, they encountered boulders as big as houses that had washed down from the mountain along with the mud.
Rescue crews were unable to dig to an elementary school where as many as 250 pupils were believed trapped.
''We're still hoping for a miracle," Southern Leyte Governor Rosette Lerias said early today. ''Maybe huge boulders rolled around or over the school, blocking mud and forming a sort of air pocket for those trapped."
Hopes for the survival of some of the pupils had been raised yesterday when relatives reported receiving cellphone messages from a teacher trapped in the school. But the last message, which said four people remained alive, was received at 4 a.m. yesterday. Above where the school was thought to be, body bags were piled on the ground. Soldiers pounded stones on boulders and shouted in the hope that survivors in the school would signal back. They got no response.
Water and mud continued to flow down from the mountain, sparking fears of another big slide, one that could bury the rescuers as they worked. A lack of electricity has forced rescuers to halt their operations each day at sunset.
''Yesterday, we concentrated digging where there were supposed to be survivors, but found only big rocks and mud," rescue worker Eugenio Abueva said today. ''We are starting off again this morning, hoping to find someone alive."
''Our work has been very slow because we have to do everything by hand," he said. ''Heavy equipment could not be brought to the area. We are using shovels and iron bars."
Rescue crews found 43 bodies yesterday and two more today, bringing to 56 the number of dead recovered. Many of the bodies showed signs that they had been dragged along by the mudslide. Two of the people pulled alive from the mud died later.
The United States has sent two military vessels to Leyte to aid the rescue effort and to provide medical assistance. The first US military unit, a 15-person assessment team, arrived in the area late yesterday and was headed to Guinsaugon.
Many of the victims of the mudslide had evacuated Guinsaugon earlier because of the danger of a landslide from the heavy rains. But when the rains began to ease up, many returned home.
''Those residents have been told for many years that they lived on a danger zone," Lerias said. ''They got used to a little flooding after heavy rains. So Friday, they thought it was just going to be like that, but in a matter of seconds there was a huge wall of rocks, soil, and trees sliding down from the mountain."
Authorities estimated that 350 villagers escaped the mudslide because they had not yet returned home.
Adriano Fuego, director of the Office of Civil Defense for Leyte, noted that the area is geologically unstable and has a history of mudslides. In 1991, about 6,000 were killed on Leyte by floods and landslides after a major storm.
By Richard C. Paddock and Alex Santos, Los Angeles Times | February 19, 2006
GUINSAUGON, Philippines -- Rescue workers and soldiers searched for survivors without success yesterday in the sea of mud that covers what was a thriving village of more than 1,800 people.
Authorities said more than 1,000 of the inhabitants of this remote village on Leyte Island are missing and may have died in the landslide that struck Friday morning after two weeks of heavy rain. Rescuers, who had reported pulling 57 survivors from the muck Friday, said they did not find any survivors yesterday.
With the mud 30 feet deep, it was nearly impossible to reach buildings. With landmarks obliterated and even the tops of palm trees covered, simply finding where structures once stood was difficult.
Firefighters, soldiers, and volunteers faced arduous conditions. The mud was so soft in some places that the rescuers sank up to their waists. Unable to use bulldozers because of the unstable soil, they dug with hand tools or just their hands. At times, they encountered boulders as big as houses that had washed down from the mountain along with the mud.
Rescue crews were unable to dig to an elementary school where as many as 250 pupils were believed trapped.
''We're still hoping for a miracle," Southern Leyte Governor Rosette Lerias said early today. ''Maybe huge boulders rolled around or over the school, blocking mud and forming a sort of air pocket for those trapped."
Hopes for the survival of some of the pupils had been raised yesterday when relatives reported receiving cellphone messages from a teacher trapped in the school. But the last message, which said four people remained alive, was received at 4 a.m. yesterday. Above where the school was thought to be, body bags were piled on the ground. Soldiers pounded stones on boulders and shouted in the hope that survivors in the school would signal back. They got no response.
Water and mud continued to flow down from the mountain, sparking fears of another big slide, one that could bury the rescuers as they worked. A lack of electricity has forced rescuers to halt their operations each day at sunset.
''Yesterday, we concentrated digging where there were supposed to be survivors, but found only big rocks and mud," rescue worker Eugenio Abueva said today. ''We are starting off again this morning, hoping to find someone alive."
''Our work has been very slow because we have to do everything by hand," he said. ''Heavy equipment could not be brought to the area. We are using shovels and iron bars."
Rescue crews found 43 bodies yesterday and two more today, bringing to 56 the number of dead recovered. Many of the bodies showed signs that they had been dragged along by the mudslide. Two of the people pulled alive from the mud died later.
The United States has sent two military vessels to Leyte to aid the rescue effort and to provide medical assistance. The first US military unit, a 15-person assessment team, arrived in the area late yesterday and was headed to Guinsaugon.
Many of the victims of the mudslide had evacuated Guinsaugon earlier because of the danger of a landslide from the heavy rains. But when the rains began to ease up, many returned home.
''Those residents have been told for many years that they lived on a danger zone," Lerias said. ''They got used to a little flooding after heavy rains. So Friday, they thought it was just going to be like that, but in a matter of seconds there was a huge wall of rocks, soil, and trees sliding down from the mountain."
Authorities estimated that 350 villagers escaped the mudslide because they had not yet returned home.
Adriano Fuego, director of the Office of Civil Defense for Leyte, noted that the area is geologically unstable and has a history of mudslides. In 1991, about 6,000 were killed on Leyte by floods and landslides after a major storm.
