“Urduja deaths In Biliran could be prevented” — OCD-8

NAVAL, BILIRAN, Philippines — A month after tropical storm Urduja lashed at Eastern Visayas — with Biliran province as the most devastated due to landslides and floods — a post-incident evaluation workshop was held in Naval town of Biliran to address issues and concerns in preparations to calamities in the future.

The evaluation, initiated by the provincial government through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, showed some areas for improvement and other mitigating measures that need to be carried out.

For one, Office of Civil Defense-Region 8 Director Ed Posadas who attended the workshop said Biliran province has good DRMM governance, with impressive skills of responders, and enough equipment.

However, all these “need to be translated to the ground. We have to level up,” Posadas said, as he lamented the destruction and deaths left behind by Urduja.

Landslides and floods in Biliran resulted in 42 deaths, 14 missing, and 42 injured, besides destroying 6,883 houses, and affecting 30,224 families or 117,143 persons. The total cost of destruction to infrastructure and agriculture in Biliran had reached more than P943 million, said Posadas.

The OCD-8 top official told The FREEMAN there is a need to do more in preventing, if not minimizing, deaths during calamities. “These deaths could have been prevented,” he declared.

Posadas said he would prefer a plan of setting up a 40-meter danger zone from the foot of the mountain similar to the 40-meter danger zone from the shoreline, where no one should be allowed to put up an abode within these zones.

The director also pointed out the importance of revisiting the hazard map and going back to the drawing table if need be. “We must keep ourselves abreast of climate change effects which were demonstrated by the disastrous effects of TS Urduja and Agaton,” he added.