• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
An official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday maintained that at Mt. Kanlaon, there is no evidence of illegal logging activity, which some local officials and residents are attributing as among the contributors of widespread flooding in communities along the slope of the volcano.
Charlie Fabre, DENR regional director for Negros Island Region, disclosed that the uprooted trees from riverbanks and creeks, as well as private properties, were brought down by floodwaters.
The ground assessment team found no indications that the trees carried down by severe flooding were cut illegally, Fabre said in his consolidated report on November 14.
DENR initial inventory showed 12,636.88 board feet of uprooted lauan, toog, nato, sangil, and mahogany trees along the Bagacay Creek in Barangay Biak na Bato in La Castellana, as of Nov. 13.
Fabre also reported about 30 landslides at Mt. Kanlaon.
The DENR has attributed the recent landslides and flashfloods in central Negros to 10 hours of non-stop rains before the landfall of Typhoon Tino on Nov. 4, which loosened the compactness of the soil.
Floodwaters brought down trees and boulders to several communities along the slopes of Mt. Kanlaon and affected almost 800,000 individuals.
According to the report, the ground assessment team ascertained that flash floods in Canlaon City were caused by a combination of torrential rainfall and the presence of volcanic debris on the slopes of Mt. Kanlaon.
Fabre said the excessive rainwater eroded and mobilized the loose volcanic materials, with water transformed into fast-moving, dense currents of mud and debris, cascading down to the volcano’s gullies and major river channels.*
