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ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/12 January) – Barangays in the city identified to be flood-prone will be convened to discuss risk reduction measures in case calamities occur, an official said.
Councilor Abdurahman Nuño, Liga ng mga Barangay president, said contingency plans should be in place to prevent huge damage to properties as well as loss of lives in cases of events such as excessive rainfall.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) has identified 36 of the city’s 98 barangays as prone to flooding and five as prone to landslide.
Fifteen of the 36 barangays are located in the west coast and the remaining 21 in the east coast.
Four of the five barangays prone to landslide are in the west coast while the other one is in the northern part of the city.
The list of landslide- and flood-prone barangays in the city is based on the MGB’s geohazard map for Region IX.
The MGB warned that flooding with a magnitude similar to those in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities can happen in Zamboanga City in case of excessive rainfall.
Nuño said the residents of these barangays should be fully aware of the situation and prepare contingency plans to mitigate the effects of disasters.
“It is better to prepare now than to suffer later,” he added.
Nuño said he fully agrees with the move of the city government to relocate to safer areas all people residing along riverbanks and coastal areas and other so-called hazardous areas. (MindaNews)