Disaster preparedness: Gov’t aims for zero casualties

MANILA, Philippines - With the rainy season just around the corner, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is stepping up efforts to ensure “zero casualties” during disasters.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II yesterday said the department will lead the nationwide observance of Disaster Preparedness Week starting today, as the government intensifies its campaign to protect the public from calamities, especially those living along six major waterways in Metro Manila.

“It’s better to be prepared. We need to harmonize all the disaster preparedness programs of various government agencies to ensure ‘zero casualty’ especially now that the rainy season is just around the corner and the typhoons are coming,” Roxas said.

“We are doing everything to be prepared and to make sure that everybody is safe,” he said.

The DILG chief will preside over a command conference at Camp Crame today that will unify efforts of various government agencies and stakeholders to mitigate the impact of hazards.

Roxas said the conference marks a significant step to put on firm footing community-based disaster risk reduction and management planning with the help of science.

DILG Undersecretaries Austere Panadero, Francisco Fernandez and Regional Director Renato Brion of the DILG-National Capital Region (NCR) are among the officials who will be present in the command conference.

Meanwhile, those invited to attend the discussion are officials of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and national government agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology; Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Roxas said the activities for Disaster Preparedness Week will underscore the importance of being ready and taking action to strengthen risk management with local partners and citizens’ organizations in order to help keep Filipinos safe.

The DILG further said it will conduct flood drills in 16 barangays along the six major waterways in Metro Manila, and orientation and consultation meetings with 11 affected local government units (LGUs) in the NCR to review their risk reduction and management programs as well as contingency plans, hazard maps and evacuation plans.

The 11 affected LGUs are Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Manila, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon, Pasig, Pasay, Makati, and Taguig.

Tactical operations teams will also be part of the consultation meetings, Roxas said.

Government agencies estimated that about 15,773 informal settler-families (ISFs) live on or along six major waterways that are most vulnerable during the rainy season.

Of the 15,773 informal dwellers, some 4,567 are living along the 7.3-km San Juan River, a major tributary of the Pasig River system.

Tripa de Gallina, a narrow waterway that runs through Pasay, Parañaque and Manila, has 3,684 families and Tullahan River, a 15-km system that flows through the cities of Malabon and Valenzuela, has 3,683 families.

Manggahan Floodway, an artificial waterway built in 1986 to ease flooding along the Pasig River, is home to 1,889 ISFs.

The two other waterways in the DILG list are the Pasig River and Maricaban Creek with 1,484 and 516 ISFs, respectively.

The Pasig River is a 15-km system that connects Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay.

The government has drawn up a three-year program to move informal dwellers to new on-site, in-city or near-site relocation areas.

At least 60,000 ISFs are expected to benefit from this program by mid-2016.

The DILG said among the major steps designed to secure the vulnerable communities against dangers from flooding are an effective early warning system, enhanced capacity of local disaster responders and the ISF communities, and a systematic search, rescue and evacuation procedure.