MGB heightens geohazard mapping

CEBU, Philippines - The Mines and Geosciences Bureau-7, an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, heightened its geohazard assessment and mapping in 221 barangays from four cities and five municipalities in Cebu.

The geohazard maps would pinpoint which sitios are critically prone to landslides and flooding.

DENR-MGB-7 chief geologist Al Emil Berador said during the Kapihan sa PIA that this is a detailed geohazard mapping using a 1:10,000-scale which gets information or data at the sitio level in the barangay.

Berador said that the detailed geohazard mapping has to be done in order for the specific sitio to be aware of the dangers in their area.

“Mas maayo nga mangandam ta daan ug dili ta mo-kumpyansa aron malikayan gyud nato ang disgrasya sama sa landslides,” Berador said.

MGB-7 director Loreto Alburo, in a statement, said that that this activity is anchored in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) of the Aquino administration to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change as it gives a detailed mapping and study particularly those areas which have been highly susceptible to landslides and flooding.

About 30 barangays in Lapulapu City will be mapped including 42 and 27 barangays in the cities of Danao and Mandaue, respectively.

The list also includes Compostela with 17; Liloan, 14; Consolacion, 21; Cordova, 13; Barili, 42; and Carcar City with 15 barangays.

Meanwhile, the DENR has also distributed to local government units close to 70,000 copies of geohazard maps with a scale of 1:50,000 to help LGUs mitigate the effects of flashfloods and landslides.—(FREEMAN)