Read, heed geo-hazard maps: ‘We’re building in harm’s way’

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje implored local government officials to read and heed the geo-hazard maps of their communities.

The disaster caused by flash floods and mudslides that left hundreds dead in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan all boiled down to proper land use, according to an official of the Manila Observatory.

“We’re building in harm’s way. There are areas where settlements—whether formal or informal—have taken over the (area where) the river flows,” said Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, executive director of Manila Observatory.

Loyzaga said disaster-risk reduction would be difficult if human settlements impeded “the natural flow of the drainage of the flood plain.”

With the aid of Google Earth map, she pointed to portions where the Cagayan River constricted due to settlements as it flowed toward the coast.

During storms, officials and the public should anticipate not only water coming from above, but also from outlying areas and upward slopes, Loyzaga said.

That’s why, in mapping the vulnerability of coastal cities, the government should take into consideration several factors, including the presence of a watershed and rivers, the behavior of coastal ecology and socioeconomic conditions of settlers, she said.

“Cities have migratory pull. More and more people are urbanizing so we need to understand their physical and socioeconomic dynamics…. A hazard map is a good first step, but it’s really the interrelationship between hazard, human and ecological system that really becomes the challenge,” Loyzaga said.

Geo-hazard maps

It turned out the maps were there all along.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje implored local government officials to read and heed the geo-hazard maps of their communities. “More than a planning tool, these maps are a lifesaver,” Paje said in a statement.

He said local officials should pay serious attention to the maps which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources distributed to about 1,600 cities and municipalities and some 4,000 barangays nationwide beginning last year.

The maps, prepared by geologists of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, show  the level of susceptibility of an area to hazards such as flooding and landslides. The levels are graded high, moderate and low.

The maps include areas that could be used as relocation or evacuation sites in case of a calamity.

“I implore heads of local governments to take a genuine inter est in these geo-hazard maps we have provided them, especially for those in areas identified as disaster-prone so they can take the necessary steps before, during and after calamities,” Paje said.

Local government units (LGUs) have the responsibility of relocating residents from high risk areas to safer ground in times of impending disaster.

Not enough, says Sen. Legarda

Under the law, all provinces, cities and municipalities must have a Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (LDRRM) Council which would take responsibility for building disaster preparedness and instituting disaster-risk reduction in their jurisdictions.

“The maps are there to increase the LGUs’ competence on hazards, vulnerability and risk-assessment activities and enable them to establish their LDRRM systems to comply with Republic Act No. 10121,” Paje said.

What the national government is doing is not enough for Senator Loren Legarda.

She lashed out at the government for not implementing fully the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, or RA 10121, which has been in effect since 2009.

“The vulnerable communities cannot suffer for the incompetence, ineptitude, and apathy of leaders. They cannot bear the brunt of the nonimplementation of the laws, which have been here for years,” Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on climate change, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

RA 10121 tasked the government to “develop, promote, and implement a comprehensive National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan that aims to strengthen the capacity of the national government and local government units, together with partner stakeholders.”

The plan was to “build the disaster resilience of communities and to institutionalize arrangements and measures for reducing disaster risks, including projected climate risks, and enhancing disaster preparedness and response capabilities at all levels.”

Despite the law, Legarda said there was still no “war room” in Malacañang to address issues and events related to climate change.

She said the facility was to include the President and other key government officials, including representatives of telecommunications companies.