TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—The Office of Civil Defense for Eastern Visayas urged all local government units to brace for possible hazards that a low pressure area spotted in Mindanao might bring to the region.
Rey Gozon, acting regional director of the OCD, said on Tuesday that the low pressure area spotted in Mindanao, while projected not to hit directly Eastern Visayas, may bring more rains that could result to flooding or landslide.
“That is why we have alerted all our local government units through their respective local risk reduction management councils to be on alert,” said Gozon, who is also the regional chair of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council.
He said the LGUs need to identify their evacuation centers and prepare rescue facilities and necessary supplies, especially food.
LGU on the alert could respond accordingly to problems that may arise, he said.
Eastern Visayas, especially Leyte, just recently experienced massive flooding spawned by Tropical Storm “Sendong” that devastated Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities in northern Mindanao and some parts of the Visayas.
The flooding in Leyte displaced more than 10,000 families, consisting of over 53,000 individuals. Two persons were killed, one was missing and seven others were injured.
Gozon said that he was glad that some LGUs in the region have become proactive during a calamity by immediately activating their local disaster councils.
“There is now an inclination among our local government units to be proactive from that of being just reactive,” he said.
In Tacloban City, for example, Mayor Alfred Romualdez has a standing order to convert barangay halls and public schools into evacuation center in the event of a calamity while the city social welfare office was ready to provide the necessary food assistance to affected families.