On February 17, 2006, a massive rock slide-debris avalanche occurred in the Philippine province of Southern Leyte, causing widespread damage and loss of life.

[1] At around 10:30 on February 17, 2006, a cliff face of a ridge straddling the Philippine Fault collapsed in a combination rockslide-debris mass movement event, translocating and subsequently burying Guinsaugon village in the township of Saint Bernard.

Provincial Governor Rosette Lerias said at the time the school had 246 students and seven teachers; only a child and an adult were rescued immediately after the disaster transpired.

[citation needed] However, relief efforts were hampered by rain, chest-deep mud, roads blocked by boulders, washed-out bridges, and lack of heavy equipment.

The funds were used to purchase tents, blankets, cooking utensils, mosquito nets, temporary shelter materials, hygiene articles, water purification tablets and medicines.

A relief plane was flown into the region carrying emergency trauma kits, rubber boots, ropes, clothing, flashlights and medicine.

Three Philippines National Red Cross teams with search and rescue dogs were at the site to provide assistance, with others joining soon afterward.

[7] Congressman Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte claimed in a Reuters interview that logging and mining done in the area three decades ago was the main culprit.

Rainfall amounting to nearly 1,200 millimetres (47 in) over the period of February 4–14[11] loosened the soil so much that the resulting sludge and rocks thundered down the slopes of nearby Mount Can-abag, virtually disintegrating it.

[12] The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded a magnitude 2.6 earthquake in Southern Leyte just prior to the landslide although the effects of this are unclear.

[10] After two years, the international geoscience community including experts from Japan, Canada, United States, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Hong Kong, UK, Taiwan and the Philippines, came together in Tacloban and St. Bernard to examine known information on the Guinsaugon disaster.

[citation needed] Due to Typhoon Chanchu (Philippine name: Caloy), flash floods and mudslides isolated at least 11 barangays in Sogod, Southern Leyte.