Council urges barangays to prepare for more storms

The Cebu City government wants barangays to revisit their disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) plans to better prepare them for storms amid scientific findings that the country’s typhoon belt has shifted southward from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao areas. The Cebu City Council has passed a resolution requesting the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) in Cebu City and all 80 barangays in the city to reformulate their respective barangays DRRM plans with emphasis on various climate change adaptation measures. “This is aimed at building or strengthening people’s capacity to prepare and address the effects of climate change to minimize casualties and damage to property,” said councilor Alvin Dizon who authored the resolution. During its Environmental Leadership in Climate Change Adaptation training workshop, the Climate Change Commission said the country’s typhoon belt has shifted from northern Luzon to the Visayas including southern Luzon, Masbate, Romblon, Boracay, Iloilo and northern Palawan. He said local government units must take proactive climate adaptation measures to ensure minimal loss of lives and damage to property since the shift of the country’s typhoon belt means that many communities which are not usually exposed to typhoons will now be vulnerable to the effects of typhoons such as flooding, storm surges and landslides. “Scientists and experts have repeatedly emphasized the importance of climate adaptation since adaptation means anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimize the damage they can cause or taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. It has been shown that well-planned, early adaptation action saves money and lives,” Dizon’s resolution stated. The resolution also urges the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC) to monitor the compliance of all Cebu City barangays on disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.