Disaster response a priority--DILG

THE Department of the Interior and Local Government on Friday urged the Lapu-Lapu city government to discuss disaster response in preparation for the effects of climate change which will initially affect coastal areas.

In his speech on the sidelines of releasing the housing assistance to Typhoon “Odette” victims in LapuLapu City, Interior Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. explained the city is prone to possible dangers of water bodies during a disaster because it is located in a coastal area.

Abalos was the guest of honor of Lapu-Lapu City during the second tranche of the emergency housing assistance program where a total of 1,000 beneficiaries received P10,000 cash assistance from the local government.

He explained that climate change has given typhoons unpredictable directions and unexpected intensities.

“Why am I saying this? Times are different now. We must prepare early on signal number one because, within four hours, the world is changing, especially the coastal area that is near us,” Abalos said.

“So in these times, let’s just talk about the reach of the danger zones and what kind of preparations we will do,” Abalos added.

He said the residents were able to survive Typhoon Odette because the government and its community possessed the values of loving, caring, giving, unity and sharing in times of need.

It can be recalled that Typhoon Odette ravaged Visayas and Mindanao last December, leaving 76 casualties and billions of pesos in destroyed property and farms.

Lapu-Lapu City has 31 villages with a total population of 49,604 residents, according to a 2020 census.

According to the United Nations, climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.

It said shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil and gas), which produces heat-trapping gases.

Ian Fry, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, earlier said human-induced climate change is the largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies the world has ever experienced, and the poorest countries are paying the heaviest price.