BAGUIO CITY – The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) is soliciting the utmost support and cooperation of barangay officials in the identification of high risk areas in the city’s 128 barangays so that concerned government agencies and the local government will be guided on the appropriate mitigating measures to be implemented to prevent life and properties from being exposed to danger.
CDRRMC officials claimed that after Typhoon Ompong, potential danger zones in the different barangays have been exposed, thus, the need for the immediate implementation of the interventions that will prevent the occurrence of untoward incidents that will pose a serious threat to life and properties.
The CDRRMC wants barangay officials to immediately submit a list of potential high risk areas in their areas of jurisdiction so that requests for the conduct of an ocular inspection by experts from the Cordillera office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB-CAR) can be made to assess and evaluate the status of the said supposed danger zones.
While it is true that copies of the geohazard map of the city prepared by the MGB-CAR had been distributed in the city’s barangays for the information of barangay officials and residents, the CDRRMC pointed out the need for barangay officials to be updated on the prevailing situation in their places for them to be guided on future actions to take to mitigate negative effects of future natural and man-made calamities to the people and private as well as public properties situated in their barangays.
The CDRRMC also urged the different Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (BDRRMCs) to be proactive in the implementation of pre-emptive evacuation among residents living in identified risk areas even before the onslaught of future natural calamities to ensure that people will be in safe places before calamity will occur and avoid any casualty.
The CDRRMC continues to engage barangay officials in the post-disaster efforts of the local government to make sure that the real cost of damages to private and public properties is reflected in its report to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to avail of assistance that may be extended to the city by concerned government agencies to rehabilitate damaged properties.
According to CDRRMC officers, residents must strictly adhere to the proposed mitigating measures in their properties to significantly reduce their exposure to danger in times of natural and man-made calamities that could strike anytime, thus, the ultimate remedy to whatever difficult situation is preparedness.
The CDRRMC oversees the implementation of the city’s local disaster risk reduction and management plan to ensure that residents in the city are resilient before, during and after the onslaught of natural and man-made calamities considering that the Cordillera, including Baguio City, is one of the calamity-stricken areas in the country, thus, the need for people to be always on their toes to lessen the impact of calamities to life and property.
By Dexter A. See
