A giant garbage pile about the height of a 10-story building at the Binaliw landfill in Binaliw district, Cebu City, Philippines, collapsed on the evening of 8 January. The massive waste debris crushed office buildings, steel frameworks, and nearby work areas, resulting in at least one confirmed death and 38 people missing.
The incident occurred around 17:00 local time at a waste management facility operated by Prime Waste Solutions Cebu. The tremors from the collapse caused nearby residents to mistake the noise for a large engine, but upon inspection, they found that part of the garbage pile had collapsed, burying workers and severely damaging steel structures of the buildings.
Preliminary damage reports confirm one death—a resident of Consolacion town—with 38 people still missing and several injured individuals sent to hospitals for treatment.
Teresa Alegado, mayor of Consolacion town, expressed deep condolences over the incident, noting that 70-80% of the landfill workers are local residents. She also urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to take decisive action on previous safety complaints that had been raised.
Joel Garganera, chairman of Cebu City’s Environmental Committee, stated that the initial cause was not weather-related, as conditions were clear at the time. He suspects the collapse occurred because the accumulated waste was too high for the structure to support, causing it to give way. Garganera said the pile was likely "about as tall as a 10-story building."
Currently, rescue teams with ambulances and heavy machinery are urgently working at the site to find those trapped under the debris, amid concerns about the stability of the remaining waste layers which could collapse again.
. . .Cebu Daily News