MAG-ASO FALLS INCIDENT
As relayed by Bobby Henderson.
Mag-Aso Falls, Bohol, Philippines
June 30 2009
Near-death experience on trip to Mag-Aso falls on the island of Bohol. Here are the falls. We had just gotten there. It had been raining, but stopped.
The falls are about 25 feet tall. The water collects in a pool. It's not deep. There's a bamboo raft.
These guys were swimming/playing on the raft.
Closer to the falls.
There is some space behind the falls. The two guys went back there.
This is the view down-stream. It's very shallow. Notice the picnic table. This is the same table shown later.
It got very loud. Water came out of nowhere. The two guys had nowhere to go. I took this picture before I realized what was happening.
This picture was taken perhaps 30 seconds later.
Another view downstream. That's the same picnic table.
Water is still rising fast.
A view of the falls, as they now look. Those two guys are still back there. No one saw them swept away, so maybe they're still alive...
The water is full of bamboo, mud, etc. It's still surging, very loud. At this point, there are a lot of people waiting to see if those guys are okay.
This is the last picture I took. More than an hour later and the falls are still at flood stage. We left on the last bus back to the city. I don't know if those guys made it out alive.
July 4
Bad news… We heard the bodies of both guys were found today. I’ll post more if/when I hear more.
July 5
Bohol news still has not reported this. Why? Can anyone explain to me why not? Bad for tourism? Every local reporter I’ve emailed has ignored me. Only the local discussion forums are talking about this.
July 9
Bohol news did finally report this. I’ve received maybe 40 emails from locals-some who knew the guys. The bodies were discovered more than 5 KMs downstream. The funerals were a few days ago.
Where have all the warning signs gone?
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Hi – I received the forwarded email only this afternoon. And this is very alarming. There are a lot of things to be done. In tourism, there is money – and for Bohol Tourism has been making a lot of money on this including the Department of Tourism. My question is why can’t the Tourism people be proactive.
Why can’t they see all these things ahead and do not wait for catastrophic events to happen.
When bad things happen they blame the President…. but do not even care if they themselves are part of the crime of indifference.
This is a struggle and a challenge for us Filipinos.
Wake up Bohol Tourism and same for the diffferent tourism areas of the Philippines.
Thank you.
Good point, Yanda.
We know that accidents like this are inevitable. But we could’ve avoided some of these life-taking tragedies if there were precautions, if not by us, provided by some people who are aware that these incidents do happen.
Tourism sites particularly water falls and rapids are normally in mountainous places where instant dams may form during heavy rainfall. Likewise, denuded forest upstream may be present. Tourism sites like these must be promoted ONLY after precautionary measures (structures and warning signs) are in place. Authorities should study first and locate if there are potential hazards upstream or in the effective area such as eroding mountains due to faults or denudation BEFORE a site is promoted as a recreation site open for the public.Also, educational information will be helpful for people to be aware of the dangers in such sites or situations same as what people were taught about Trunamis learned from the experience in Thailand a few years ago.
I’ve never been to Bohol. I was not aware that there is such a waterfalls called Mag-Aso until I received a mail containing Mr. Anderson’s blog post. As promised, I will try to provide more information about places that I’ve been to. That includes precautionary measures just like what you said. Thanks for pointing this out.
Three years ago, my husband and I went there to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. At the time, the steps going down were very slippery and it didn’t help that the railing wasn’t sturdy either. In fact, all the time going down, i was very scared lest i slip and fall (it’s a steep fall, mind you.) I don’t know if anything has changed, but i very much doubt so. The hut is still the same dilapidated hut we saw when we went there. You also had to pay a certain amount in order to go down the falls. I just readily forgave them for not making sure that tourists would be safer because the place is really very very beautiful. In fact, if we ever go back to Bohol, it is one of the places I’d want to visit again. I just wish those manning the booth would warn tourists who go down to be really careful and never go far or near the falls.
I meant, that tourists who go down would be warned to be extra careful and not go too far from where the last step is, or even near the falls where they could easily be swept away by the current.
Still I can’t believe this insident.
Best thing we can do is to be vigilant about the incidents that could possibly occur. For cases like this, we should be aware that rain can mean flash floods and that we have to very careful as accidents do happen.
Thanks for sharing all of these, Kaye. I hope this can be read by many and serve as a warning of what this place lacks.
this is really horrible…. thanks for sharing this.
but sometimes rains come somewhere else in the river (places b4 the waterfall begins) and suddenly the extra water comes… i have seen that happen in Sri Lanka – Diyaluma falls – but people managed to get out from under the fall.
but the tourists must be warned… like about the safest times to visit particular places… and the limits that should not be exceeded even at safe times.
It is nice to know that people who also have the same encounter the same thing or seen similar incidents are speaking up.
Thanks Anne for sharing your Sri Lanka experience.
Hi Anne,
In Sri Lanka it happens when they open the outlets of a reservoir when it gets filled completely. In those cases the government issues a notification. But I know the notifications does not reach each and every man. It is a really unlucky thing… I am not sure about Diyaluma falls. .
CC – Sri Lanka
Hi Bobby and All,
I am from Malaysia and raised in a small town call Taiping. The town is near hills and at the foothills there are several spots with pools and small waterfalls. However they are not famous with foreign tourist.
From very young we have been hearing incidents of flash flloods. I heard it from my father, school seniors and friends. The flash flood can be caused by water building up in the hills as there is a rain. Sometime at the foothills it can be very sunny while in the hill it can be raining. So people would think that flood won’t happen because the sunny weather at the foothill can be misleading.
So since young, we were taught to watch out for weather in the hill. It can be seen from afar. When we are there we have to watch out for sign like water getting muddier, or with more leaves and small tree branches flowing from upsteam.
I know there are many other reasons like what we see in the prevous post. I sharing it here as i think it could be of the same nature. I hope this would help to clear some of your doubts.
P/S : I got your pictures sent to me in email by a friend and saw your concern. I found them here.
Regards
Thanks for sharing views. I believe one of the best preventive mechanisms would be to use your common sense and being very observant in unfamiliar surroundings before engaging in potentially dangerous behaiour. This could happen in any waterfall anywhere in the world since water flow in natural streams would always vary due to climatic conditions..
just wondering… why was the other fella wearing a blue shorts in one photo and it turned purple in the other? can anyone explain or is it just my eyes/monitor playing silly games on me? nagtatanong lang po
Hi Shang!
Keen observant, huh? I have not noticed that there were actually three people involved here wearing three different shorts (yellow, blue, and maroon) until now.
Someone told me that the third body was never found but I still have to check on that. I’ll post some updates if I find any.
Again, thanks.
If you see keenly the third guy is seen in the thrid pic – top right corner.
I recently returned from Antequera and the Mag-aso Falls where it’s located and got the whole story about the two guys in the photos.
They were swept downstream and drowned. Their bloated bodies were recovered 3 days after the accident in Abatan River between Antequera and Cortes, some 5 kilometers doownstream from Mag-aso Falls. Witnesses at the recovery site said one guy had his stomach lacerated and opened by protruding tree branches along the way. The other guy’s head was cracked open by strong pounding against rocks as the body was violently swept downstream.
The locals told me that those guys were warned to get out of the water because there was heavy rain upstream and a flash flood was imminent. They ignored the warning. Because of budget constraints, the local authorities do not have a lifeguard or rule enforcement process. They will just shout for you to get out. But its up to you to get out or not. The meager P50 (equivalent to $1.05) gate fee is not enough to hire security guards, since there are not many tourists who come to see Mag-aso Falls. Mag-aso Falls is not really a gigantic falls that would attract many tourists like that at Pagsangjan Falls in Luzon.
Lessons to be learned: In a third world country like the Philippines, there are many safety concerns and violations and less safeguards and safety rules for people. We who are not familiar with their lifestyles all have to be aware and take precautions. Do not take safety for granted.
Thanks for the info. We really cannot take any warnings from local residents for granted. These are the people who know better than us of what the place could be. Too bad that these two victims of this tragic incident didn’t realize that.
So there, residents from the vicinity already made a statement that they tried warning the victims to get out of the water before the damage happened. And tight budget restricted them from creating any signage about the danger that the Mag-Aso offers.
The author of missbackpacker.info has written an excellent article. You have made your point and there is not much to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not argue with: The most painful household incident is wearing socks and stepping on an upturned plug. Thanks for the info.
There should be some option to stop these natural disastor from happening…we should think ahead of every possibility, at the least we should always do what we must be doing…