Sagada Cave safety during heavy rains up for review, MDRRMO to draft protocols

Following a recent tourist rescue at Sumaguing Cave, the Municipal disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) decided on a full review of cave safety protocols during heavy rains. The decision was made during the council’s second quarter meeting held September 8. 

The Municipal Tourism Office, the MDRRMO, and the tour guide association involved will conduct a joint incident assessment to pinpoint operational gaps and update existing safety guidelines.

The Incident:

Throughout late August, Sagada experienced heavy rainfall caused by the Southwest Monsoon and consecutive typhoons (Luis and Maymay). Despite the bad weather, a small number of toursts visited the town.

At around 3:00PM on August 30, a local tour guide led two female tourists into Lumiang Cave to begin the “Cave Connection” – a technical spelunking route that exits through Sumaguing Cave and typically takes at least three hours. By 8:00PM, friends of the tour guide realized the group had not returned, and went to check on them.

Inside Sumaguing Cave, they spotted the group stranded on an elevated ledge at the “Frog Pool” section. Heavy, rushing water had flooded the passage, blocking their exit. They immediately informed MDRRMO personnel. MDRRMO mobilized a rescue team composed of Sagada Emergency Response Volunteer Services (SERVS), the Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine National Police, community volunteers and guide associations at 8:45PM. Rescuers safely extracted all three individuals by 10:30PM. The guests were evaluated at St. Theodore’s Hospital and declared uninjured. The tour guide was brought to the PNP station for questioning, where he provided his account of the incident. The following morning, the Municipal Tourism Office posted an advisory temporarily suspending all spelunking activities.

According to both the guide and the two female guests, the group arrived at the Frog Pool section around 5:00 PM. As water levels began to rise, the guide moved the guests to a dry, safer location, gathered firewood, and built a fire to keep them warm. He then repeatedly checked on the water conditions until he spotted the lights of his colleagues and successfully signaled them for help.

The guide explained that the water inside Lumiang Cave was clear and calm when they entered. However, as they neared the final drop, he noticed the water turning brown and carrying twigs. Shortly after, the water volume and pressure rapidly increased, prompting his emergency actions.

Key Issues and Recommendations:

The incident raised critical questions regarding entry permission during bad weather, late-afternoon entry times, staff coordination between cave sites, and guide decision-making during risk assessments.

To prevent future incidents, council members recommended several measures:

Physical On-site Monitoring: Stationing tourism staff at the entrances of both Lumiang and Sumaguing Caves during heavy rains and mandatory temporary closures to strictly enforce advisories.

MDRRMO Safety Clearance: Requiring the MDRRMO to conduct physical site inspections and issue formal recommendations to the Mayor or Tourism Office before reopening caves during inclement weather.

Communications Systems: Equipping cave staff and other monitoring sites with two-way radios issued by the office of the tourism to maintain contact between Lumian, Sumaguing, Tataya-en, Balangagan entrances, and other tourist monitoring sites ensuring late-entry groups are properly logged and endorsed across sites when mobile networks fail.

Monitoring Challenges:

MDRRMO representative Asher Cadaweng noted that monitoring cave hydrology currently relies entirely on physical inspection. Two automated rainfall gauges previously installed upstream were unserviceable and replacing the units cost almost P200,000, responders must evaluate water volume visually without real-time upstream rainfall data.

The upcoming incident assessment aims to establish clear, standardized rules and roles during bad weather so that safety decisions and closures remain swift, objective, and predictable.

Two photos: Credits – MDRRMO Sagada, attached