Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered Saturday the creation of a multi-sectoral task force to investigate the flash floods and landslide that left hundreds if not thousands of people buried in mud in a village in Southern Leyte of central Philippines on Friday.

The order came as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that Southern Leyte had been considered vegetated and among the country's "priority geo-hazard areas" dangerous to local inhabitants.

At least 1,500 people were buried under thick mud and rocks in the landslide which was believed to be caused by days of heavy rainfalls and a mild earthquake.

Arroyo asked for a thorough investigation on the tragedy so the government can come up with mitigating and preventive measures to avoid the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.

"The government is also working to alert all areas of the country affected by the heavy rains to take immediate precautions so that another tragedy does not strike," she said, while stressing the need to have a mechanism for the safety of the people, especially in risk areas during the rainy season.

"I have asked my government to make sure every village and town has emergency preparedness under control. And if necessary, we need to be prepared to evacuate areas deemed unsafe as a result of the La Nina rains," she added.

Dismissing speculation that the landslides there were due to denudation of the surrounding forest, a DENR official who requested anonymity told newspaper the Philippine Star that Southern Leyte was in fact "vegetated" despite a long history of logging activities in the province.

Southern Leyte is prone to landslides because of its soil or ground make-up and the level of rainfall in the area, while all the three major factors for a landslide -- the integrity of the bedrock, steepness of the slope, and level or amount of precipitation -- are present in the area, he said.

Source: Xinhua