Govt to spend P100M for disaster preparedness programs
MANILA, Philippines – The government will spend over P100 million next year for disaster preparedness and mitigation programs in 16 disaster-prone provinces in the country, officials said.
Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the program would be a continuation of the Ready project, which was being implemented by the government in 27 provinces in the country through grants from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
Solidum identified the 16 provinces as Pangasinan, Cebu, Bulacan, Agusan del Norte, Western Samar, Saranggani, Camarines Norte, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Aklan, Batanes, Zamboanga del Norte, Bukidnon, Davao Oriental, Mountain Province and Lanao del Sur.
The Ready project, also known as the High Risk Mapping and Assessment for Effective Community Disaster Risk Management, is a joint undertaking of Phivolcs, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Mines and Geosciences Bureau, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, and the Office of Civil Defense.
The project was conceptualized because of the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
The four-year project has already been implemented in Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Bohol and Aurora.
Among the topics discussed with local officials were the results of the hazard mapping on storm surge, rain-induced landslide, ground rupture, ground shaking, earthquake-induced landslide, liquefaction and tsunami.
The agencies also briefed local officials on the early warning system for flood and tsunami, as well as the Philippine Disaster Management System and Contingency Planning.
The program will be implemented in Cavite, Pampanga, Zamboanga del Sur, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Zambales, Laguna, Antique, Ilocos Sur, Catanduanes, Abra, Quirino, Agusan del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya, Cagayan, Isabela, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bicol, Iloilo, Ilocos Norte and Iloilo until 2011.
“By knowing the dangers they are susceptible to, municipal and barangay officials are now better equipped to make plans and actions to mitigate the adverse impacts of the hazards in their localities,” Solidum said.
Meanwhile, Solidum said Phivolcs would provide local government units (LGUs) free software designed for rapid seismic hazard and risk assessment, to be used by disaster managers and development planners in all provinces in the country.
Solidum said the Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System or REDAS was developed in 2004 by a team of scientists from Philvolcs “to make prompt decisions for quick deployment of rescue and relief operations.”
He said the same software costs $1,500 in the United States.
“The locally-developed software would save the government over P128 million for the acquisition of the software for at least 1,617 cities and municipalities,” Solidum stressed, adding the software can run on common hardware.
He said the software has already been introduced in the provinces of Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Sorsogon and Quezon.
Solidum said they recently trained municipal and provincial planners in Bulacan on proper application of the software.
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