LGUs alerted on landslide- and flood-prone areas in Davao del Sur, Calabarzon region

DIGOS CITY—The Davao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC)  has issued an alert to all local government units (LGUs) in the province following the release of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s geohazard map that showed landslide- and flood-prone areas.

In the geohazard map, the MGB identified 115 of the province’s 337 villages, or about half, as landslide-prone—including some areas being eyed for gold and copper exploration by a foreign-owned mining company—while 54 other villages were considered at risk of floods.

Roderick Milana, PDRRMC chair told the Inquirer, that leading the pack of landslide prone areas were the hinterland towns of Malita, Sta. Maria, Malalag, Jose Abad Santos and Kiblawan, where Xstrata-owned Sagittarius Mines Inc. had proposed to operate.

Milana said all mayors had been told to brace for the worst amid the erratic weather pattern.

Residents in the identified areas were also advised to be vigilant at all times, especially during heavy or continuous rains, he said.

“We have prepared all gymnasiums built in all towns of Davao del Sur as our main evacuation centers in times of calamity,” he said.

Landslides and floods, some of them major ones, had affected several Davao del Sur areas in the past.

Milana said the MGB geohazard map, which showed which areas are considered high-risks, was seen to boost the PDRRMC’s effort to prevent the massive effects of natural calamities, especially on the lives and safety of residents.

In Lucena City, the DENR in Calabarzon has identified the areas in the region with “high landslide susceptibility” and “flood-prone” and warned the residents to always observe necessary precautions.

The areas in the region that the DENR found to be highly susceptible to landslide are:

Cavite—Tagaytay City and the municipalities of Maragondon, Ternate, Silang and Alfonso;

Laguna—Calamba City, Los Baños, Alaminos, Rizal, Nagcarlan, Majayjay, Famy, Mabitac, Sta. Maria, Siniloan, Kalayaan, Cavinti and Paete;

Batangas—Laurel, Mataas na Kahoy, Cuenca, Lipa City, Tuy, Calaca, Mabini, San Juan, and Rosario;

Rizal—Antipolo City, Taytay, Rodriguez, San Mateo, Angono, Binangonan, Cardona, Morong, Baras, Tanay, Pililia and Jalajala; and

Quezon—Gen. Nakar, Infanta, Real, Mauban, Panukalan, Burdeos, Pagbilao, Atimonan, Lopez, Buenavista, Mulanay, San Andres, San Fransisco, Tagkauayan, Sampaloc, Dolores, Tayabas, Lucban and Gen. Luna.

The areas classified as “flood-prone with high susceptibility” are:

Cavite—Kawit and Noveleta towns and Cavite City;

Laguna—Mabitac, Sta. Maria, Famy, Siniloan, Pangil, Pakil, Paete, Kalayaan, Lumban, Cavinti, and Sta. Cruz;

Batangas—Nasugbu, Lian, Calatagan, Tuy, Balayan, Calaca, Lemery, Taal, San Luis, Bauan, San Pascual, Lobo, Laurel, Talisay and the cities of Tanauan and Batangas;

Rizal—the towns of San Mateo, Cainta, Taytay, Angono, Binangonan, Cardona, Morong, Baras, Tanay, and Antipolo City;

Quezon—the municipalities of Infanta, Real, Mauban, Pagbilao, Padre Burgos, Pitogo, Macalelon, Catanauan, Mulanay, Buenavista, Lopez, Guinayangan, Tagkawayan, Calauag, Polilio, Burdeos and Lucena City.

Reynulfo Juan, director of the DENR in Calabarzon, said that to help prevent future calamities, the agency would embark on a project to rehabilitate 10,823 hectares of forest land in 2012 as part of the government’s national greening program.

“It is rehabilitating the forests—planting and nurturing the trees that buffer the rain, absorb the excess water and prevent run-offs and flood,” Juan said.

He urged all LGUs in the region to use geohazard maps to prevent calamities similar to what happened in areas devastated by Tropical Storm “Sendong.”

Geohazard maps that were produced by DENR are available at the regional office’s Decision Support Systems Office  in Calamba City and at the office of the regional director of the MGB-Region IV-A in Manila, Juan said.

The geohazard maps could serve as warning to disaster-prone areas and as a guide to prevent catastrophes, said Juan in a statement released Wednesday by Gaudencio Audie de la Cruz, DENR-Calabarzon regional public affairs officer.

MGB Director Leo Jasareno recently announced that the government’s geohazard maps will soon be posted at the website of Environmental Science for Social Change  (www.essc.org.ph).

In the geohazard map, the color-coded natural hazards—landslides, floods and flash floods are superimposed on the topographic map of the Philippines, from the provincial down to the municipal and barangay levels. Orlando B. Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao, and Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon