MGB wants W. Visayas geohazard map updated

ILOILO City – The Mines a nd Geosciences B u rea u (MGB) in Western Visayas has recommended the updating of i t s geohazard map to include areas and places that experienced flooding and l andslide during Tropical Depression “Agaton” in April.

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ( RDRRMC), during a recent full council meeting, was supportive of the move of the MGB, said Cindy Ferrer, information officer of the Office of Civil Defense and at the same time RDRRMC spokesperson.

“Some of the landslides are new so one of t heir recommendations was to update the geohazard map,” she said.

Ferrer, citing an RDRRMC situation report, said 73 rain-induced landslides were monitored during “Agaton”: 18 from Capiz, 24 from Iloilo province, 23 from Antique, seven from Negros Occidental, and one in Aklan.

Some 388 barangays all over the region were flooded.

“Some of the incidents used to be minimal but the hazard became risky during ‘Agaton’,” she added.

There was no timeline though as to the period of updating but geologists have been deployed since typhoons “Odette” and “Agaton” for rapid geohazard assessment, she said.

In addition to updating the geohazard map, the MGB also recommended the relocation of residents staying in critical geohazard zones and the prohibition of the construction o f h o u s e s , s c h o o l s , a n d important infrastructures in the landslide- and flood-prone areas. (PNA)