The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office of Western Visayas called on local government units (LGUs) to use geological hazard maps (geohazard maps) following the recent flooding and landslide that occured after tropical depression Usman’s onslaught before New Year.
Out of 25 towns in Northern Samar, 20 were hit by Usman, leaving 185,902 individuals affected and eight confirmed dead. In Samar Island, 13 died with five more people missing.
The maps can help LGUs in formulating their disaster management program, according to DENR Regional Executive Director Crizaldy Barcelo. He added that the maps can help in minimizing and preventing the loss of lives during natural disasters.
Barcelo told reporters in a briefing last January 14 that the geohazard map has been available to LGUs as early as 2016. The maps included list of towns, cities and villages prone to flooding, landslide, earthquake, soil erosion, and areas along fault lines, among others.
The map that was produced by DENR’s attached agency, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), is still undergoing development. Currently, it already has a completed 1:10,000 scale landslide and flood susceptibility assessment of 1,634 cities and municipalities.
Its main objective is to identify areas in the country susceptible to various geologic hazards.
