DAVAO CITY – Residents in areas prone to flood and landslide have been alerted anew to the dangers of continuing rains the past days even as authorities repeated their appeal to abandon these places for safer relocation.
The alert came in the wake continued rains not only in Davao City but in many areas in Mindanao.
CDRRMO Chief Alfredo Baloran said CDRRMO teams have visited several barangays prone to disasters during the rains and coordinated with the Barangay Risk Reduction and Management Councils (BDRRMC) to check again their flood and landslide-prone areas.
“We warn them repeatedly, especially now that we are experiencng continued rains. The water is contained in the landslide-prone areas. We also experience ground shaking so there is a tendency that the foundation of the soil loosens resulting in a landslide,” Baloran said.
“We have asked those who are living in landslide-prone area to find another place where they can live safely away from danger. We saw what happened in Leyte and we are hoping that it does not happen to us),” Baloran said.
The CDRRMO has installed signages in areas along or within fault lines, which run across many areas in the northwestern areas. The Phivolcs identified five major fault lines in the city.
The city has just experienced another episode of flood brought by Typhoon Agaton early this month, on April 6, almost 7,000 residents in Barangay 5-A, Maa, 19-B, Tigatto, Buhangin, Waan, Matina Crossing, 8-A, 10-A, 9-A, and 76-A heeded call for preemptive evacuation and sought shelter in 18 evacuation centers.
Meantime, the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) displayed city maps to commemorate Earth Day and showed the places exposed to different environmental hazards, including flood, storm surges and landslides.
“The maps will show you the hazard risk area. We want the people to be aware of the current hazards already mapped in our Zoning Ordinance like the landslide-prone areas, areas that are prone to flooding, areas that are prone to storm surge, and areas that are within the faultline,” said City Planning and Development Coordinator Ivan Cortez.
“We are part of the solution. Everything that we do will always redound to something that will destroy or benefit the environment. The choice is ours and we are imploring everyone to be part of the solution by planting a tree, if they can we have it here at SM, seedlings. For those who want to plant a tree, they can start today,” Cortez said.