Legarda Urges LGUs, Gov't Agencies to Integrate
Hazard Maps in Dev't Plans

Senator Loren Legarda urged local government units (LGUs) and various state departments to integrate in their development plans and programs the multi-hazard maps completed by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) under the Hazards Mapping and Assessment for Effective Community Based Disaster Risk Management or READY Project.

Legarda said that the NDRRMC and the agencies under the Collective Strengthening of Community Awareness for Natural Disasters (CSCAND) has already completed multi-hazard maps of 15 out of the 27 provinces covered by the project.

The project, which is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), includes mapping on the following hazards: storm surge, floods and flashfloods, rainfall-induced landslides, tsunami, earthquake-induced landslides, liquefaction, ground shaking and ground rupture.

"The READY Project is an essential component of our disaster risk reduction and management strategy, as it will provide maps that LGUs and government agencies could use as a basis in identifying and undertaking priority adaptation activities," Legarda explained.

"These maps should now be integrated by our LGUs, particularly those covered by the project, in their land use and development plans. A conscientious leader would not want and will never allow the construction of buildings along an active fault line or waste millions on public infrastructure that can be instantly destroyed by floods," she stressed.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, also said that government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, Department of Public Works and Highways, and Department of Education should incorporate these multi-hazard maps in their disaster risk reduction measures.

"These hazard maps will help the DA to determine where best to plant and grow a certain type of crop, the DPWH on where to prioritize the retrofitting of critical public infrastructure, and the DepEd to ensure that schools are made resilient and to create localized curricula that would educate students on the vulnerability of their community and how they should prepare for disasters," she explained.

"Government agencies should use these maps in identifying and undertaking priority adaptation activities. More importantly, these efforts must go down to the barangay level where the effects of disasters are most felt," Legarda concluded.