LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – A 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were killed in a landslide that buried their house in Barangay Bariis, Matnog town, Sorsogon province after midnight Saturday, Jan. 17.

Police Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib, Police Regional Office-5 spokesperson, said initial reports from the Matnog Municipal Police Station said the victims’ house collapsed after it was hit by debris from a landslide directly behind their home.

The victims were reportedly sleeping when the landslide struck. They were trapped under the rubble and died on the spot.

The area was experiencing heavy rain from tropical storm ‘’Ada’’ when the landslide struck.

Authorities conducted rescue and retrieval operations and recovered the bodies of the victims at 6:30 a.m.

Moderate to heavy rains are being experienced in the Bicol region due to Ada.

Matnog Mayor Bobet Lee Rodrigueza said Ada was not the direct cause of the landslide.

Rodrigueza said the tragedy was caused by a huge rock that rolled down from behind the victims’ house, leading to its collapse.

“It was a very large rock that rolled into their home. The woman was struck on the head by the rock, while the man was crushed by the collapsing wall of the house,” the mayor said.

Rodrigueza noted that the area is not considered landslide-prone, but he believes the continuous rainfall loosened the soil, allowing the huge rock to move.

He added that rainfall in the area was not particularly heavy on the night of the incident, even though Sorsogon was under tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) No. 2 at the time.

Rodrigueza said the local government has implemented forced evacuations as early as Friday, but some residents initially refused to comply.

“That’s why I went around again earlier to convince our residents to evacuate, especially those in dangerous areas. We already enforced forced evacuation yesterday, but some were still stubborn,” Rodrigueza said.

The local government continues to assist stranded passengers at the Matnog Port.

According to the mayor, at least 429 vehicles are currently stranded at the port due to weather-related disruptions.

“We are working with the Philippine Ports Authority and the Department of Social Welfare and Development. We also have our own counterpart support and are providing food to stranded passengers,” he said.

Rodrigueza added that the municipal government has requested nearby towns to temporarily stop vehicles from entering Matnog due to congestion at the port.

A traffic management group has been formed to help ease traffic in the area. “Before, we didn’t have one. Now, we already have a traffic management group in place,” he said.