Here are additional photos of Rock Point before and after the recent landslide plus its affect on Searchlight #2.
Some of the ‘zoomed in’ photos are fuzzy due to being taken from a bouncing boat or just being cropped well beyond the amount they should be. However they will give you good idea of pre and post landslide views at Rock Point.
The red line depicts the location of the cliff face after the rockslide.
Pre landslide view of Rock Point and the cliff behind it.
The same photo as above zoomed in. Nothing can be seen of Searchlight #2 when looking from the boat. This is the location where a track perpendicular to the cliff brought the searchlight out to when it was in operation.
Post landslide view of Rock Point.
The same photo as above zoomed in. Now you can see white concrete with a black drainage hole at the bottom. This is the end of the perpendicular track. (Under the track is an extensive concrete drainage system).
View from the track looking towards the cliff face. Two small manholes (centre and lower right) go down to the drainage system. This is as far as I went out as I could now see the new cliff face to my left.
Fresh landslide area.
Another view of the same tree as above. Note the tree root that splits into forked shaped roots. (Conchita Island is in the background)
Now here is the scary part. While standing on the track and keeping back from the cliff face I felt safe. Later that night I took a look at the boat photos taken a couple days earlier. I was surprised to see an overhang here so I was actually closer to the cliff than I thought. No wonder the landslide to my left was so visible, I was almost beside it and not a ways behind it as I thought.
Post landslide view taken from an angle.
The same photo as above zoomed in. Note the overhang which is the end of the track and drainage system. The same forked shaped roots can be seen just behind the overhang.
This is a terrible photo but hopefully it will illustrate two things.
First: the bamboo and other vegetation along the old road and near the searchlight was almost overwhelming. When I complain about vegetation at times, this is a sample of it.
Second: approximately one inch from the left of this photo, note a vertical greenish colored concrete wall. This is the horizontal ‘inside’ wall of Searchlight #2 that is furthest from the cliff face. Now notice the very bright area to the right of the photo. This is the new cliff face.
A view of Rock Point. Mount Mariveles on Bataan is in the background.
Another view of Rock Point. You can see some of the recently fallen rock at the bottom.
This is one location that you do have to be very careful but I cannot say if visiting Searchlight #2 from now on is overly dangerous. The potential is certainly there. Is more of the cliff ready to fall? Someday the rest of it will slide into the ocean.
I will post Searchlight #2 and tunnels photos soon.