DPWH deploys equipment to clear roads in Mt. Province

ERODED. Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar (right) is in Natonin town in Mountain Province on Wednesday (Oct. 31, 2018) to monitor the road clearing operation on the roads leading to the town, where a still being constructed multi-story DPWH building crumbled minutes after being engulfed in mud and rainwater from a mountain that eroded at the height of Typhoon Rosita on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo from Mark Villar’s Facebook Page via PNA)

MANILA — The Department of Public Works and Highways have deployed heavy equipment to clear roads leading to the landslide area in Natonin town in Mountain Province, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said on Thursday.

Villar said the heavy equipment had been sent to clear thoroughfares from Paracelis town to Natonin and from Bontoc town to Natonin.

A multi-story building of the DPWH undergoing construction crumbled minutes after being engulfed by rainwater and mud from the mountain that eroded at the height of Typhoon Rosita on Tuesday afternoon.

Five backhoes, five loaders, and six dump trucks were deployed in the area.

“Our clearing operation is non-stop, 24/7. Paracelis to Natonin hopefully by today, while we estimate to clear Bontoc to Natonin by November 3,” the DPWH Secretary said in a text message.

As of 12 noon, Villar said the department’s workers were clearing 15 slides in Paracelis to Natonin and 20 slides in Bontoc to Natonin.

The DPWH in Natonin town reported as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday that rescue operations had so far found 14 survivors and 10 bodies in the rubbles.