5 Metro-Manila cities build resilience to future disasters

WANTING to continuously improve

cities in Metro Manila have engaged in a cross-learning visit, which included a one-day exhibit featuring designs of temporary shelters.

Communities, local government units, and civil-society organizations of Camanava—the collective name for the cities of Quezon, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela—also discussed and learned from each other the various risk mechanisms in dealing with disasters, both natural and man-made, in urban and suburban settings.

The cross-learning visit was one of the activities by MOVE UP, or Moving Urban Poor Communities Toward Resilience, which is funded by the European Civil Protection and Human Aid Operations.

The exhibit on the designs Alternative Temporary Shelter, meanwhile, focused on the hazard, duration of displacement, location, and needs of the community. These options are a range of physical and management solutions that immediately addresses the shelter needs of affected population.

For densely populated urban areas, the lack of safe and digni-

a challenge that local governments deal with regularly. Evacuees are usually cramped in evacuation areas including schools, churches, basketball courts, and other public structures lacking in basic facilities for privacy, water, sanitation, hygiene, and protection. due to monsoon rains affected almost 1.5 million people in Metro Manila and neighboring regions, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Cities such as Marikina and Makati were able to provide modular shelter, lauded as a great improvement on usual evacuation procedures. Last May, partitions were also set up to provide privacy for evacuees affected