Search, rescue and retrieval operations at the Guisad Surong landslide site in Baguio City were formally terminated in the early hours of Tuesday, August 11, after all 13 residents buried by the August 9 collapse were accounted for — 10 confirmed dead and three pulled out alive, the Baguio City Police Office and the Incident Command Center announced.
As of 2:40 a.m. Tuesday, the remains of all 10 fatalities had been retrieved and the three survivors were recuperating at hospital, authorities said, following nearly two days of continuous operations conducted under hazardous conditions.
Landslide Buries Three Houses, Five Families on Guisad Road
The landslide struck homes along Guisad Road in Guisad Surong shortly after 7 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, burying three houses occupied by five families, according to the Baguio City Public Information Office.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong initially placed the number of victims at 13, with three rescued, and said approximately 150 rescuers were deployed to the site. Magalong described the terrain as steep and unstable, with crews monitoring the mountainside and bringing in additional equipment — including a backhoe and a K9 search dog — to move a concrete slab that had become the most difficult obstacle in the operation.
Among the survivors were a 27-year-old man, a 27-year-old woman, and a 77-year-old pastor, all transported to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center for treatment. The bodies of a mother and her child, found embracing each other, were among those recovered as operations continued through Monday.
Five Students Among the Ten Fatalities
Five young students were among those killed in the landslide, the Department of Education said Tuesday, asking the education community to keep the victims' families and the Cordillera region in their prayers. Baguio City suspended classes from preschool through Grade 12 in both public and private schools following the disaster.
PNP Personnel Worked Alongside Volunteers and Partner Agencies
The Philippine National Police, in a statement issued under PNP Chief Police General Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr., said police personnel worked alongside other responding agencies and local authorities to locate and assist those affected while securing the area. Survivors were brought to hospital while retrieval operations were conducted for those who did not survive, the PNP said, adding that personnel remained on the ground to assist affected families and support the continuing emergency response.
Mayor Magalong commended rescue teams, responders, volunteers and partner agencies who worked without pause under difficult conditions, and thanked residents who provided food, clothing and supplies to affected families and responders. The city government warned, however, that the landslide area remains dangerous, with Magalong noting that 13 other landslides were being monitored across Baguio amid persistent heavy rains.
Cordillera Death Toll Rises to 14 Amid Widespread Slope Failures
At least 14 people have died in landslides across the Cordillera region following days of relentless rain, with 13 others injured and none missing as of August 11, according to authorities. Swollen rivers and continuing slope failures have isolated communities, leaving at least 15 road sections impassable and 19 areas without electricity.
Apart from the 10 deaths in Guisad Surong, two people were killed when a landslide buried a roadside eatery in Shilan, La Trinidad, and two relatives died after being buried while clearing mud near their home in Paoay, Atok.
Nationally, the PNP deployed 800 personnel and ordered field units in affected areas to remain on heightened alert and intensify preemptive evacuation efforts. The Office of Civil Defense said Tuesday it was verifying 19 deaths linked to Tropical Depressions Luis and Maymay and the southwest monsoon, with approximately 2.2 million people affected across the country.
Guisad Surong's History of Deadly Slides Renewed by Latest Collapse
The disaster has revived memories of the October 18, 1967 landslide that struck Guisad Surong at the height of Typhoon Trining — known internationally as Carla — which killed dozens of residents. Baguio recorded 1,216 millimeters of rainfall in the 24 hours from October 17 to 18 of that year.
The latest collapse has renewed concerns over the vulnerability of communities built on steep slopes as Baguio and Benguet continue to absorb prolonged rainfall from successive weather systems.
By the Numbers
- 10 — fatalities confirmed and retrieved at Guisad Surong
- 3 — survivors rescued and hospitalized, including a 77-year-old pastor
- 13 — total residents initially buried; all accounted for as of Aug. 11
- 5 — students among the dead, per the Department of Education
- 14 — total Cordillera landslide deaths as of August 11
- 15 — road sections left impassable by floods and slope failures
- 800 — PNP personnel deployed nationally in response
- 2.2 million — people affected nationally by Luis, Maymay and the southwest monsoon, per the Office of Civil Defense
- 1,216 mm — rainfall recorded in Baguio over 24 hours during the 1967 Typhoon Trining disaster
Why This Matters
The Guisad Surong landslide is the deadliest single-site disaster in the current series of weather-related emergencies affecting the Cordillera region, with five of the ten victims identified as young students. The collapse — which buried entire families in their homes — underscores persistent and documented risks to communities settled on Baguio's steep slopes, a concern that authorities say remains unresolved as the city continues to monitor 13 additional landslide-prone sites under sustained heavy rainfall. With the Office of Civil Defense verifying at least 19 deaths nationally and 2.2 million people affected, the scale of the ongoing monsoon emergency continues to grow.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Baguio City Public Information Office