Every Brgy has system in place UNDP: Ormoc City a model in disaster preparedness

ORMOC CITY, Philippines - — The lesser casualties and injuries during the onslaught of typhoon Yolanda was attributed to the disaster preparedness of this city, according to officials of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

UNDP area coordinator Dario Cubelo said the city’s disaster risk reduction and management system, which has been in place in every barangay, will be recommended by the agency as a model for other local and international governments to replicate.

UNDP specialists Sudhir Khumar and Ross Hardy also agreed with Cubelo, saying, “Ormoc is the forerunner in disaster preparedness.”

They said disaster preparedness of the city was not focused only in the metropolis, and included trainings, medical kits, maps, early warning systems and devices, legislation and commitment of the mayors and officials of barangays and other smaller communities to put up their own suitable system.

The UNDP findings came after a forum it conducted on Tuesday with residents from 11 barangays located in high-risk disaster areas, and members of the city’s rescue team who narrated their stories of surviving the Yolanda devastation.

Forum participants took turns in telling their experiences in the early warning and response phases, explained the methods and tools they used to mitigate the impact and the problems they encountered.

According to UNDP’s assessment of the stories from residents, the high percentage of survival in the affected areas was achieved by the disaster preparedness system of the city, which was set up down to the barangay level.  (FREEMAN)