The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) has beefed up the city’s capability to deal with unexpected flooding, especially during rainy seasons.
PCol. Alfredo Baloran (Ret), Head of the CDRRMO, said during the I-speak session on Thursday that the responders have been prepared to respond at any time since the beginning of the La Niña, particularly since localized thunderstorms have become common in Davao City.
He said they continuously coordinate with the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (BDRRMC) and response cluster members and maintain nonstop monitoring.
“Our office is constantly monitoring and coordinating with BDRRMCs, volunteers, and members of the response clusters. Always mi prepared (We are always prepared),” he said.
“Gina-remind nato sila always, especially kung naa’y mga weather disturbances, to check in diha sa atoang operation center aron naa ta’y mga counted members of resources and responders na ato’ng ma-deploy anytime (We always remind them, especially if there are weather disturbances, to check in at our operation center so that we have a count of resources and responders that we can deploy any time),” he added.
He said to help improve the city’s readiness and reaction to natural disasters like floods, the city recently got additional emergency equipment and will receive 10 more rescue vehicles this month.
In addition to the rescue trucks, the office also has a plan to improve their resources so that teams can be easily dispatched to the communities.
To keep an eye on the water levels, cameras have also been installed in the city’s upstream areas. Additionally, an early warning system was set up in the city’s upper reaches.
“From there sa ato’ng camera in the upstream, [makita kung] muabot ang tubig diri sa downstream area. It will take almost two to three hours pa, so we still have enough time to prepare and implement the pre-emptive evacuation (From there in our camera in the upstream, we can then determine whether the water will reach the downstream area. Since it will take roughly two to three hours, we still have time to get ready and carry out the preventative evacuation),” he said.
He said the city is also continuously conducting desilting operations around Davao.
He said the satellite substations in the barangays, especially in Malabog and Marilog, were established to bring services closer to the Dabawenyos.
“Our office is continuously upgrading our resources para ma-assign sa mga satellite offices (Our office is continuously upgrading our resources to be assigned to the satellite offices),” he said. CIO
