Gov’t to produce 3D maps for disaster risk efforts

MANILA, Philippines - The government will produce threedimensional (3D) maps that will guide provincial and municipal officials in drafting their disaster risk reduction and management efforts, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said yesterday.

Paje said 3D maps are 25 times more precise than the ones the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) distributed earlier to local government units (LGUs).

He said the 3D maps would be released by the third or fourth quarter of next year.

Earlier, the agency distributed 1:10,000 scale geohazard maps to LGUs affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

The DENR said 131 of 171 municipalities in nine Yolanda-hit provinces have these maps.

“With the 1:10,000 scale geohazard maps, the degree of vulnerability to floods and landslides can be determined in these areas. These maps will enable national and local authorities to see clearly what’s happening on the ground,” Paje said.

The maps cover towns in the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Cebu, Iloilo, Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, Dinagat Island and Palawan.

Paje said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau would finish the geohazard maps for the provinces of Masbate, Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Negros Occidental before yearend.

The DENR allocated some P354 million for the conduct of a detailed geohazard mapping in the country’s disaster-prone areas.

Protection of children during disaster

The House committee on the welfare of children will discuss a bill seeking to provide emergency relief and protection for children during disasters, calamities and other emergency situations.

Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Aurora Enerio Cerilles, panel chairman, said House Bill 5062 would guide humanitarian groups and oblige government agencies to prioritize actions that protect children’s rights.

Citing a study of Save the Children Philippines, Tarlac Rep. Susan Yap, author of the bill, said more than 10,000 children displaced by Typhoon Yolanda remain in evacuation centers.

She said thousands of children died during Yolanda while those who survived suffered trauma and difficulties in evacuation centers, and are even exploited and abused.

“These traumas and sufferings can be avoided or mitigated by establishing policies and principles to protect the children in times of calamity and disaster,” Yap said.

The bill mandates the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Office of Civil Defense to formulate a comprehensive emergency program for children, which will be implemented immediately after the declaration of a national or a state of calamity.

The DSWD, in coordination with the Armed Forces and Philippine National Police, is required to monitor and ensure the safety and security of children in areas placed under a state of calamity. – With Paolo Romero