Landslides claim 4 lives in Cordillera

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — At least four people were reported killed in the Baguio City and Benguet province in landslides set loose by rains spawned by typhoon “Karen" on Wednesday, disaster management officials said on Wednesday. Alex Uy, operations chief of the Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera, said mudslides from the mountain top rushed down to the house of the Somera family in barangay Ucab in Itogon, burying one-year-old Mark Anthony Somera, his brothers Lester Somera, 3; and Alvin, 10 on Wednesday noon. Several hours before that, a 72-year-old woman was buried when a landslide swamped her house at Purok 7 in Baguio’s barangay of Pinsao. Petra Kadatar, 72, was sipping freshly-brewed coffee in her kitchen at Purok 7 at around 3:30 AM (Wednesday dawn) when the accident happened. Also at around 7:20 Wednesday morning, 21-year-old Hesterlee Anne Carpiso was rushed to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center after rescuers from the 911-On-Call led by Paeng Valencia dug her up from the landslide in Sta. Escolastica barangay in Baguio City. She was not breathing and had no pulse when she was dug up, said Valencia. The victim was revived at the hospital. Baguio and Benguet officials had called off classes even in universities and colleges even as elementary and high school students began their even longer weekend Tuesday after Monday's holiday. As in other places in the Cordillera mountain ranges and other parts of Luzon, classes in he highland city of Baguio were suspended on Wednesday due to stormy weather. Public works employees were still clearing the highway along Kennon Road, specifically in Klondykes in Camp 3, Tuba town after boulders rolled down the highway Wednesday dawn, while other government road workers cleared a huge landslide road connecting Baguio to La Trinidad in Benguet. Workers were also on their toes monitoring landslides in other road grids in the Cordillera region especially the very important vegetable belt road grid (Baguio-Bontoc Road, otherwise known as Halsema Highway) where highland vegetables are transported from the farms toward the La Trinidad trading post in Benguet. - GMANews.TV