By CESAR JOLITO III

Local disaster officials are raising concerns over a rapidly worsening sinkhole discovered on a mountainside in Negros Occidental’s Toboso town, as its depth and size continue to increase following days of rainfall.

Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer Hospicio Carbajosa, Jr. said the ground opening in Barangay General Luna’s Sitio Bairan has deepened from six feet to nine feet in just 24 hours, underscoring the risk of further ground collapse.

The sinkhole, which now spans a radius of about 30 meters and a diameter of roughly 60 meters, lies around 500 meters from the East Negros Fault System.

Carbajosa explained that the area’s limestone-rich terrain makes it highly susceptible to sinkholes, especially during prolonged or heavy rains.

“When there is continuous rainfall, the limestone dissolves, weakening the ground structure and causing it to sink,” Carbajosa said, noting that the site is also near the Calatrava-Toboso earthquake fault line, part of the same fault system.

While authorities continue to monitor the situation in Toboso, similar geohazard risks are being assessed elsewhere in the province.

Mayor Nehemiah Joe dela Cruz recently led an on-site inspection in Don Salvador Benedicto town, where landslides and soil erosion were reported in Barangay Bago’s Purok Agsisibay.

A report from the Don Salvador Benedicto local government said the inspection aims to ensure the immediate evaluation of affected areas and the timely implementation of measures to protect residents and restore damaged terrain./CJ, WDJ