Senator renews call to strengthen disaster resilience
CLARK FREEPORT---Senator Loren Legarda yesterday renewed her call for communities to heighten resilience to disasters as the nation commemorated on Thursday the fifth anniversary of Supertyphoon Yolanda.
“Long before Yolanda and more so after, I have knocked on the doors of local government units (LGUs) urging them to implement our environmental laws to build resilience and reduce disaster risks. Disaster preparedness is one of the seven core areas of governance in building sustainably progressive and inclusive communities,” said Legarda, UNISDR Global Champion for Resilience.
The Senator said that there have been improvements through the years, particularly in the issuance of weather advisories and early warnings and enforcement of early evacuation, but more needs to be done.
“We need to continuously conduct massive education and information campaign on disaster preparedness so that communities do not remain complacent,” Legarda said.
“We need to ensure that in rebuilding communities, we are not rebuilding the risks again. We must reduce the risks and not create new risks. If a community is prone to landslides, consult the geohazard map to see where relocation is possible; otherwise, we will continue to incur damages and rebuild again when natural hazards occur. That is certainly not a mark of resilience. In coastal communities, there should be mangrove