Authorities are preparing for expected cases of flooding especially with the onset of the rainy season.
For Cebu province, Kathy dela Calzada of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) said that they are encouraging the public to heighten their level of awareness on disaster preparedness.
They would not want a repeat of the Carmen flash flood which claimed several lives, said Dela Calzada during Wednesday’s Kapihan sa PIA (Philippine Information Agency) forum at the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. building.
She said that the PDRRMO is doing a purok-based system where barangays are empowered to prepare for disasters.
“We are encouraging the local government units (LGUs) to adopt, reach out even to the farthest place in their areas because we cannot achieve zero casualty if we don’t bring it down to the community level,” she said.
San Francisco town on Camotes Island in northern Cebu, which recorded zero casualty when Super Typhoon Yolanda struck in November 2013, is the model community for the province’s purok-based system.
“San Francisco’s management disaster risk reduction committee is being replicated by 13 of the 51 LGUs in Cebu,” Dela Calzada added.
Cebu City, for its part, has also intensified its information drive on disaster preparedness.
“In Cebu City, we already have a template to address natural hazards. In our disaster preparedness information campaign, we coordinated with homeowners associations especially those in danger zones. We visited them, discussed what to do to prepare for disasters,” said Harold Alcontin of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO).
Alcontin said the city’s Command Control Center is operating 24/7 to monitor weather disturbances.
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