CARRANGLAN, Nueva Ecija — Landslides caused by heavy rains stranded last Monday afternoon hundreds of motorists at Putlan, this town, on the Nueva Ecija-Cagayan Valley Road.

The site of the landslides, which is between kilometer post No. 193 and No. 194, is the same place hit by similar massive landslides on August 7, 2009. These were also triggered by heavy rains spawned by tropical storm “Kiko.”

The lines of stranded vehicles on the Nueva Ecija side stretched at least four kilometers, while the queue at Dalton Pass and Minuli, Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya was about six kilometers.

Hungry motorists looked for food and drinking water at nearby houses.

The residents said the five-to-seven-foot riprap on the mountainside proved no match to the cascading mudflows that covered some 100 feet of the stretch of the road. The landslides were as high seven to eight feet.

Expecting to clear the road to traffic on Tuesday morning, the authorities said that the clearing operation was hampered by intermittent rains and gusty winds.

A team of Department of Public Works and Highways personnel conducted the clearing operations as policemen and soldiers of the 71st Infantry Battalion of the 7th Infantry Division provided security for the stranded motorists.

Senior Inspector Reuben Garcia, Carranglan police chief, said the heavy mudflow, boulders and gravel were dislodged from the top and side of the mountain.

Engineer Ramiro Cruz, chief of Nueva Ecija’s First Engineering District, who was at the site of the disaster area since Sunday night, led the clearing with the use of a backhoe and grader to clear the debris and make the road passable.

The emergency situation had emerged since last Sunday due to heavy rains spawned by tropical storm “Labuyo” but quick action by the DPWH provided relief for the motoring public.