Beach collapses in Zambales; Army securing shoreline By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 24, 2013

- 1:00am MANILA, Philippines - The beach of Puerto del Mar in Candelaria, Zambales collapsed Saturday afternoon, possibly due to soil erosion caused by strong tidal waves, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said yesterday. MGB director Leo Jasareno said the incident occurred at around 4:30 p.m. Around 80 to 100 meters of shoreline slumped to a depth of two meters. As a result of the phenomenon, the sea moved about 10 meters facing land, Jasareno said in a telephone interview. There were no fatalities reported. This is a natural phenomenon. There may have been soil erosion because of the strength of the tidal waves or there may be a sinkhole, Jasareno said. He said an eight-man team composed of MGB geologists was expected to arrive at site yesterday to determine the exact cause of the slump. We will also be determining if the same phenomenon is occurring in nearby areas, he said. Jasareno noted that there are no magnetite mining operations in the area. Swimming is temporarily prohibited on the beach. Meanwhile, a shore protection project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in La Union saved the coastal village of Barangay Pilar from being totally wiped out. At least 15 hectares of the total land area of the village were submerged due to strong waves caused by storm surges and typhoons in the past, according to Councilor Protacio Cabueas. But with the completion of the P36-million shore protection project of the DPWH, it is expected that portions of the villages total area will be restored. Cabueas said the sinking of Barangay Pilar started after a sand mining company left the area in the late 1970s. Some of our constituents have transferred to nearby barangay Santiago because theres no more space to build houses in Pilar, he said. -With Jun Elias

3 days needed to probe sinkhole in Zambales beach By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 26, 2013 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it would take three days to investigate the reported sinkhole in a beach in Candelaria, Zambales. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said the team of geologists sent in the beach of Puerto del Mar has just installed a deep penetration radar with an x-ray function that can check cases of land sinking up to 100 meters deep. Leo Jasareno, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the DENR, said it will take a few days before the geologists are able to get new information from the tests being conducted in the area. We have to be scientific here. We need to be very careful so that we can get accurate results, Paje said, adding that the DENR cannot just issue an order for evacuation without any concrete basis. But the DENR has prohibited swimming in the beach of Puerto del Mar after it collapsed Saturday afternoon reportedly due to soil erosion caused by tidal waves. Around 80 to 100 meters of shoreline slumped to a depth of two meters, causing the sea to move about 10 meters inland.

MGB: Coastal erosion caused Zambales beach collapse By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 2, 2013 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines - The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) yesterday said that the collapse of the coastline of a beach resort in Candelaria, Zambales does not constitute a sinkhole phenomenon but was a result of coastal erosion. MGB Director Leo Jasareno said they are recommending that the area be declared permanently as a no swimming and danger zone as well. Jasareno said with the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment, a team of geologists who conducted an investigation found no voids or cavities, or even a sinkhole in the affected area. What was identified were alternating layers of loose and fine to coarse sand 18.5 meters below the surface, he said. The equipment functions like an X-ray that can check land sinking up to 100 meters or 300 feet below. The beach slump is not due to sinkhole but is a result of coastal erosion caused by wave and tidal currents. Waves undercut the base of the shoreface, which happened during the interface of low tide and high tide, with the prevailing southwest monsoon, the MGB report said. Jasareno noted that the area is underlain by unconsolidated beach sand that is unstable and easily reworked by waves. The coastal sedimentation dynamics is indicated by the advance and retreat of the shoreline, and that the area is also prone to storm surge hazard, he said. He said coastal erosion is a natural phenomenon leading to the formation of a cliff 100 meters from the shoreline. The depth of the cliff or the steep slope from the shoreline is about 25 to 30 meters. The MGB recommended continuous monitoring of the area for large-scale erosion and storm surge, particularly when there is an incoming weather disturbance. A danger zone should be declared as the area is highly prone to coastal erosion, he added. The MGB estimated the danger zone to be 100 kilometers long and the width to be 20 to 30 meters.