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Southern Leyte Province, Philippines (view source)

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==[[Southern Leyte News]]==
==[[Southern Leyte News]]==
'''Padre Burgos LGU leads multi-sectoral crown of thorns massive collection'''
'''Catubig LGU to build permanent  evacuation center uphill'''
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R08&article=1301329971265
*Source: http://leytesamardaily.net/2012/02/catubig-lgu-to-build-permanent-evacuation-center-uphill/
*Thursday 23rd of February 2012
*24 February 2012
:by (PIA8-Southern Leyte)
:by SARWELL Q. MENIANO




PADRE BURGOS, Southern Leyte, Feb. 23 (PIA) -- The local government is leading a campaign to rid the coastal areas here of a deadly specie of starfish that poses a threat to the town’s tourism industry and also to the livelihood of marginal fisher folk, Agriculturist Juliet Crisostomo said.
CATUBIG, Northern Samar – This flood-stricken town will build a permanent evacuation center uphill to address congestion in municipal hall and two-storey school buildings during floodwater surge, a common scene during rainy season here.
   
   
The crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS), a coral-eating underwater creature, has been blamed for destroying a partial stretch of coral reef in this dive destination. If the destruction is left unchecked, the number of divers who frequent the site is likely to diminish, affecting local tourism, he said.
Mayor Fredicanda Dy said that they are now making detailed plan of the proposed four evacuation centers and multi-purpose center that will rise in a three-hectare lot close to the premises of University of Eastern Philippines Catubig campus and Catubig Elementary School in Brgy. Poblacion 1.
   
 
Fishermen living along the coasts who depended on fishing as their main livelihood have already complained that fishes have migrated to other places as a result of the loss of coral material in the area, Crisostomo said.
“Available space in our designated evacuation centers like two-storey school buildings and municipal hall is not enough to accommodate all people affected by flood,” Dy told Leyte Samar Daily Express.
 
 
The campaign has resulted in more than 3,000 COTS averaging 12 inches in diameter being collected before noon Wednesday and later buried across the street. Called “Dap-ag Lanay” locally, COTS are differentiated from normal starfishes, which are star-shaped, in that the former have thorny projections resembling a crown.
  Seven of the eight barangays situated in the town center are prone to severe flooding and it lasts up to one week or more based on last year’s experience, according to Dy.
   
 
Their proliferation is reported to have resulted from the absence of natural predators such as oysters and some species of fish that feed on them. Overfishing and climate change have played in part in the imbalance, by reducing the population of the COTS natural enemies.
The proposed evacuation center with approximately 2,000 square meters floor areas could accomodate more than 3,000 individuals. The site was earlier donated to the local government by the Department of Education and UEP Catubig satellite campus.
 
 
Divers from private dive businesses, fisher folk from the neighboring barangays, and several personnel from the Coral Cay Conservation (CCC), a non-government organization from Britain stationed at Barangay Napantao, San Francisco, helped in collecting the COTS from the sea floor, Crisostomo said.
The mayor said that once the proposal is completed including costings, they will seek funding assistance from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, concerned national government agencies and private sector.
   
 
Over the past month, seven out of 10 coastal barangays of Padre Burgos have already collected more than 50,000 pieces of COTS. Three other barangays have separate schedules of COTS collection in March, he added.
The local chief executive admitted that it’s tough for them to identify permanent relocation sites for residents in seven barangays in the town center since almost all areas in Catubig have been identified as vulnerable to flooding.
 
“Dealing with flooding is like a way of life to us. People here are used to it and we are trained on what to do and where to go if there’s non-stop rain,” said Ma. Christine Heriales, a professor of UEP Catubig in a separate interview.
 
  The Office of the Civil Defense has been calling local government units to relocate residents from danger zones to ensure zero casualties during calamities. A copy of detailed geohazard map was earlier distributed to LGUs by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
 
This 4th class municipality in Northern Samar has a population of 5,689 households in 47 barangays commonly situated along the Catubig River. Thirty barangays have been hit by floods in the past.
 
Other than areas within the town center, flooding are also severe in the villages of Lenoyahan, Opong, Tangbo, Calingnan, Canuctan, Guibwangan, Sagudsuron, and Cagogobngan.
 
  “Our concern is more on people in the town center where 90% of the area is very prone to flooding. We have already designated evacuation sites for other villages. About 50 families dwelling along river side were permanently relocated to higher grounds last year,” Dy explained.
 
The deep and navigable Catubig River traverses majority of barangays in Catubig including the town center. Its mouth in Laoang town is located just 18 kilometers from here. The river is about 54 kilometers in length running through 83,600 hectares Catubig Valley.


==Photo Gallery of Southern Leyte, Philippines==
==Photo Gallery of Southern Leyte, Philippines==
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