CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Motorists traveling between Bukidnon and Davao are advised to take alternate routes after a landslide buried a major section of the San Fernando–Talaingod Road early Monday, making the highway impassable.
The landslide struck a 228-meter stretch of the four-lane road expansion project in Sitio Balacayo, Barangay Kalagangan, San Fernando, Bukidnon, following several days of heavy rain.
No injuries or deaths were reported.
The Region 10 said the road remains closed to all vehicles while crews remove an estimated 80,000 cubic meters of mud and debris.
Authorities are urging travelers to use these detours:
- Bukidnon–Davao (BuDa) Road via
- Barangay Matupe–Paquibato District route for motorists traveling toward Davao
Several buses traveling between Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, and Tagum were stranded after the road was blocked.
According to DPWH Region 10 public affairs officer-in-charge Jaymaica Maraguinot, continuous rainfall saturated the mountainside.
Engineers had already observed water rushing down the slope on Sunday, hours before the landslide occurred at dawn on Monday.
Around 17 meters of mud and debris buried nearly two-thirds of the ongoing highway expansion.
The DPWH said clearing operations could take several days.
Four backhoes and two dump trucks are already working at the site, while two additional bulldozers are expected to arrive to speed up debris removal.
Authorities advised motorists to monitor travel advisories before heading to the area, as weather conditions could affect both the clearing operations and nearby roads.
The latest incident is the second landslide reported along the San Fernando–Talaingod Road in just two days. An earlier landslide in Sitio Cabadiangan, Talaingod on July 5 was cleared later that same day.
