Tadian fiesta turns to nightmare, agony

By Francis B. Degay

TADIAN, Mountain Province -- While church members of the Roman Catholic Holy Rosary Church were preparing for their fiesta on October 9-11, heavy mudslide swept away Sitio Bulala, Kayan East here killing instantly 35 individuals and wounding three others.

To date, at least 50 persons were confirmed dead here during the typhoon.

According to barangay officials, at around 6 p.m. Oct. 8 a loud bang was heard followed by sudden and continues flow of mud that covered about 17-18 households.

Three persons were immediately rushed for treatment to the Luisa Hora Regional Hospital at Abatan, Bauko town.

A male parent was spared for he went to visit a friend when the incident happened. Search and rescue were done immediately due lack of electricity and continues downpour.

Residents said before the incident, Roman Catholic priest Andrew Claver went to inform a certain Lesio Gao-ay, principal of the Holy Rosary high school, to transfer to the church convent due to continuous water flow along the backyards and pathways of the residential area.

When Fr. Claver left Gao-ay’s house after a few minutes, sudden erosion and mud flow covered the community.

According to barangay health worker Teresita Ilakad, a crack was observed at the portion of the mountain that eroded by old folks several years ago but nothing has been done with the belief that that was only a natural phenomenon.

Based on interviews conducted by this writer with several elders, they had similar perceptions that the crack might have been saturated with too much water that caused the mountain to erode.

They further said when the slide covered the road canal, water flowed downward to the community loosening foundations of several houses.

The concrete house that was situated in the uppermost portion of the sitio crushed down several houses below, they continued.

The following day until October 13 almost all the local government units and volunteers of Mountain Province procured and delivered relief goods and offered search and rescue operations at the tragic site.

As of press time about 34 bodies have been recovered leaving one old man who is still the subject of a search operation.