Flood prone communities prepare for rainy season

Our Lighthouse Alliance, a consortium of 15 organizations involved in disaster response and preparedness, has started implementing a community based disaster preparedness project called “Building Noah’s Ark in Flood Prone Communities” or simply Noah’s Ark Project. It aims to find a safe spot in a high risk area and develop it into an evacuation center where people will feel safe and secure; retrofit schools and other public places into suitable evacuation areas; and develop capacities of vulnerable communities to prepare for flooding.

Last August 23, the project officially started through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among key member organizations. They were represented by Mr. Guillermo Luz, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI); Mr. Ramon Isberto, President, Corporate Network for Disaster Response (CNDR); and Mr. Ricardo Jacinto, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP). The funding for the project amounting to P1.8M was provided by the AFI while CNDR and Habitat for Humanity Philippines will handle the project implementation.

One of the project sites for the pilot implementation is Bgy. Malanday in Marikina City, one of the most affected communities during the typhoon Ondoy where 2,079 families were affected. The first activity was the Seminar-Workshop on the Reorganization of the Local Disaster Coordinating Council into Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee conducted on September 4. Twenty eight individuals participated in the workshop mostly members of the Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council (BDCC) and representatives of the school’s Disaster Brigade.

Director Cecilia P. Kwan, Director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Marikina City presented the highlights of the Republic Act 10121, known as the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010” while Mr. Cedric Daep, Chief, Public Safety and Management Office of Albay Province, facilitated the reorganization of the BDCC into Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee (BDRRMC) in accordance with the said new DRM law.

The roles and membership of the task units and committees were also identified during the workshop.

Project activities in the next two to three months include : provision of community kitchen and toilet facilities in the identified evacuation site; risk mapping to identify and delineate high, moderate and low risks and safe areas; contingency planning and institutionalization of local real time Early Warning System on flood, communication protocol and evacuation procedures; formulation of contingency plans; simulation exercise/drill; and preparation of community based disaster preparedness manuals on Early Warning System, Communication Protocol and Evacuation Procedures.

With Noah’s Ark Project, residents of Bgy. Malanday are hopeful that they will not experience the same tragedy they had during Typhoon Ondoy last year.