Ilocos Norte. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — The municipality of Dingras in Ilocos Norte has declared a state of calamity amid heavy drought conditions caused by extreme heat.
“This declaration comes as a result of the severe and prolonged drought conditions that have adversely affected our community,” the Dingras Municipal Council said in a recent statement.
“The scarcity of water resources has significantly impacted agricultural productivity, posing imminent threats to livelihoods, food security, and overall well-being,” it added.
READ: El Niño sends 131 areas into state of calamity
With the declaration, the council said it would aim to mobilize all available resources to implement measures addressing the challenges caused by the drought.
Thirty percent of the municipality’s Calamity Fund will also be immediately used to rehabilitate the affected areas.
“Our priority is to ensure the provision of essential support and assistance to affected individuals and communities,” the council said.
It then urged the municipality’s residents to cooperate in mitigating the impacts of drought.
The country has been consistently experiencing dangerously hot and humid temperatures amid the Summer season and the continued effects of the El Niño phenomenon.
The heat index, or “a measure of the contribution that high humidity makes with abnormally high temperatures in reducing the body’s ability to cool itself,” also consistently shoots past 42 degrees Celsius in most of the country.