By CESAR JOLITO III
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has concluded that the catastrophic floods and landslides that swept through central Negros during Typhoon “Tino” were triggered primarily by 10 hours of nonstop torrential rain and accumulated volcanic debris on Kanlaon Volcano — not illegal logging, as initially suspected by affected communities.
In a consolidated assessment released by Charlie Fabre, executive director of DENR in the Negros Island Region (DENR-NIR), the agency said nearly 800,000 people across Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental were affected when loosened soil, uprooted trees and massive boulders cascaded down the mountain’s slopes on November 14.
Fabre said ground teams found no evidence that the trees swept downstream from Kanlaon were illegally cut.
Instead, most were uprooted along riverbanks and creek systems due to the force of the floodwaters.
As of November 13, DENR inventoried 12,636.88 board feet of uprooted lauan, toog, nato, sangil, and mahogany along Bagacay Creek in La Castellana’s Barangay Biak na Bato.
Why did the floods turn catastrophic?
While Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park’s (MKNP) forest cover has significantly improved, Fabre noted that large sections of its surrounding landscape remain grasslands, croplands and open barren areas — terrain that cannot absorb extreme rainfall.
This worsened the runoff in La Castellana and La Carlota City in Negros Occidental, as well as Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.
In Canlaon City, the flooding took on an even more destructive character.
Fabre said the combination of torrential typhoon rains and accumulated volcanic debris from Kanlaon’s past eruptions created fast-moving lahar-like flows loaded with mud, sand and rocks.
“The excessive rainwater eroded loose volcanic materials and transformed them into dense currents of mud and debris,” Fabre said.
These cascaded down the mountain’s gullies and river channels, sweeping through communities.
Fabre also highlighted that Canlaon City’s reliance on large-scale upland vegetable production within MKNP makes it more exposed to climate-driven hazards.
The cultivated uplands, he explained, become highly erodible during heavy rains — turning productive farmland into a pathway for destructive mudflows during intense weather events.
Meanwhile, landslides were documented in several MKNP communities, including Twin Falls in La Carlota City’s Sitio Guintubdan, as well as erosion and flooding along rivers and creeks in Barangays San Miguel, Nagasi, Biak na Bato, Cabagnaan, Ibid, Bagacay, and Talaptap in La Castellana.
As of November 16, the Office of Civil Defense in NIR reported 107 deaths, 63 missing and 153 injured due to “Tino.”
Negros Occidental’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also recorded 12,633 houses destroyed and 99,081 partially damaged following the onslaught./CJ, WDJ