Philippines Landslide: Hundreds of families forced to flee their homes

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02:17

Hundreds of families have been forced out of their homes in the Philippines after a landslide that killed dozens. Many fear returning home would endanger their lives, but for some... there is nothing to return to. CGTN's Barnaby Lo has the story.

Jeffrey Lapis limps a little when he walks but he says it's nothing compared to what could've happened to him had he not been quick enough. Early Thursday morning, a landslide buried the community where he lived. Now dozens are either dead or missing in Naga City in Philippines' popular island of Cebu.

JEFFREY LAPIS LANDSLIDE SURVIVOR "I ran as soon as I saw the landslide coming. I got injured but I just kept running. I saw my house disappear."

Like Jeffrey, Jenny Dahuya is grateful she and her children survived. It's a miracle, she says, how the boulders didn't crush their house.

JENNY DAHUYA LANDSLIDE SURVIVOR "Me, my husband and our four children just stayed inside our house until the landslide ended."

BARNABY LO CEBU, PHILIPPINES "From this vantage point, I think it's pretty obvious, there's no denying that there have been quarrying activities here. There's the landslide over there. I think it's clear now that these activities have endangered the lives of residents here."

Everyone living within the vicinity of the landslide, even those who didn't lose their homes, like Jenny, have been asked to evacuate. Hundreds of families have taken shelter in a gymnasium, while others moved in with relatives.

LIZELDA LUCERNAS EVACUEE "We're getting our things, sir, because the area will be abandoned." (Barns: You can't stay here.) No more. (Barns: Forever?) That's what we know."

Indeed, despite the suspension of quarrying operations here and in several regions across the country, authorities say they can't say for sure when residents can return or if they will ever be able to. Barnaby Lo, CGTN, Naga City, Cebu, the Philippines.