City ready for La Niña: agency

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2016/06/06/city-ready-la-nina-agency-478009
• Monday, June 6, 2016

By Rona Joyce T. Fernandez

WITH the onset of La Niña coming earlier than expected, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO) assured that the City is ready for the rainy season.

In a news conference yesterday, Acting Mayor Margarita Osmeña said the CCDRRMO has identified the high-risk areas and given the residents instructions on how to prepare for rains.

“I talked to them almost two weeks ago and they said they’re ready. They go to the high-risk areas when there is a warning about possible rains to help the residents prepare,” she said.

Harold Alcotin of CCDRRMO, in a phone interview with Sun.Star Cebu yesterday, said they’ve divided the identified high-risk areas into two, one for landslide and the other for flood-prone areas.

The flood-prone areas in the north district are Mahiga Creek in Barangay Banilad, Colon St., Sitio Magtalisay in Barangay Mabolo and San Isidro in Barangay Talamban.

South

The flood-prone areas in the south district, on the other hand, are Tagunol in Barangay Basak Pardo, Sitio Huyong-Huyong in Barangay Labangon and Kinalumsan Bridge in Barangay Tisa.

“We receive most of our alarms from these areas. These, too, have high risks in rise in water levels,” Alcotin said.

He said that out of the flood-prone areas, Kinalumsan Bridge is the most dangerous with residents living under the bridge.

He, however, assured that they have instructed the residents to evacuate the area immediately at the first sign of increase in water level.

The landslide-prone areas, on the other hand, are mountain barangays Busay, Agsungot, Sudlon I and II, Sinsin, Buot Taop, Buhisan and Sapangdaku.

“There are not much houses in these areas, but it’s risky for the motorists,” Alcotin said.

He said they have already deployed radio communication devices to the officials in mountain barangays for them to alert CCDRRMO for any incidents.

As for the evacuation centers, Alcotin said the public schools are ready and have been designated as emergency centers as well.

“The schools are safe places so they are ideal evacuation centers. As for the urban areas, we are asking the permission of the school principals,” he said.

Monitoring

As part of their preparation, CCDRRMO personnel assigned in both districts were ordered to monitor their respective areas of responsibility and be ready for rescue operations.

“We have life jackets and flood pumps readily available. One (flood pump) had been deployed in Barangay Carreta and the other two are on standby,” Alcotin said.

With the school year about to start, he said they have instructed parents to pack raincoats and umbrellas for their children with June being the start of the rainy season.

He added that they have also warned residents living near riverbanks, identified or not as a high risk area, to prepare themselves for immediate evacuation in the first sign of increase in water level.

“We are also demanding the barangays to prepare their areas of responsibility. We also urged the people to save our emergency hotline numbers posted in public stations so that we can immediately respond to them,” he said.