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| Gov Raul Lee, GIZ DRM Sector Chief Mr. Olaf Neussner signs LFWES MOA |
By: Bennie A. Recebido
SORSOGON CITY, Feb 27 (PIA) – The
Provincial Government of Sorsogon together with the Local Government Unit of
Irosin and Juban and the Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) or the German Agency for International Cooperation entered
into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the Local Flood Early Warning System
(LFEWS) Project for the Cadac-an River stretch from Irosin to Juban town.
Present during the MOA Signing held on
February 28, 2013 at the Provincial Training Hall, Capitol Building in Sorsogon
City were Mr. Olaf Neussner, Disaster Risk Management Sector Chief of GIZ;
Governor Raul R. Lee; Juban Municipal Mayor Jimmy Fragata; and Irosin town Vice
Mayor Medardo S. Futalan, Jr., who represented Mayor Eduardo Ong.
It was also witnessed by the
representatives of government line agencies, the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST), Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA), Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS),
Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and some Sorsogon media.
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| (Photo: VALabalan) |
According to Sorsogon Provincial Disaster
Risk Reduction Management Office (SPDRRMO) Chief Raden Dimaano, the MOA seeks
to empower local governments and communities in addressing flood disasters,
enhancing their forecasting capacity and improving response capacity through
early warning system.
Juban and Irosin towns topped the list of multiple
hazard prone areas in Sorsogon with histories of flashflood and landslide
episodes during intense rainfall. Aside from this, the two municipalities also
experienced rigorous impact of Bulusan Volcano’s past activities such as lahar
flows.
Mayor Fragata in his presentation said that
14 barangays with 18,990 populations along Cadacan River are affected by floods
during tropical cyclones and heavy rainfall brought by Inter-Tropical
Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Heavily damaged during floods is their agricultural
sector which affects local food security. Irosin, meanwhile, has 16 barangays
with more than 35,736 populations along Cadac-an River that are vulnerable
to flooding.
Mayor Fragata is however optimistic that
inspired by the success story of GIZ-LFWES in Leyte Province in 2008, the LFEWS
that will be replicated in Juban will surely achieve an improved institutional
performance of local governments and increasing public awareness in order to
save lives and minimize damages to properties and injuries to people in times of
devastating floods.
Mr. Neussner, meanwhile said the LFEWS
recognizes that it is important to look at the whole watershed or river basin
as a system to understand where all the water causing the flood comes from.
“It can reduce casualties and damages to
moveable property substantially. Basically, LFEWS detects a flooding condition
upstream and warns inhabitants downstream of the approaching flood,” he added.
Cadac-an River is the main river system
that traverses the municipalities of Juban and Irosin. Cadac-an River is the
biggest and longest river of the province and has four main tributaries and
sixteen collateral feeders covering a length of 35 kilometers. This river
originates from the slope of the Bulusan Volcano to the Maraot Banwa Mountain
ranges and stretches to the valley floor of Irosin and Juban before it flows
out to Sorsogon Bay.
Following the MOA signing was the media
interaction. Ms. Gemma Ocon, Disaster Risk Management Senior Advisor of GIZ, solicited
the help of the media in the communication advocacy component of the project.
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| Damaged River Control at Cadac-an River (Brgy. Binanuahan, Juban, Sor.) |
In the afternoon, the GIZ representatives
together with the members of the media present were toured by the Provincial
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (SPDRRMO) personnel headed by their
chief Engr. Raden Dimaano together with Juban Municipal DRRMO Ms. Lispeth
Nicolas in Brgy Gabao, Irosin and Brgy. Binanuahan in Juban showing both ends
of the Cadac-an River and the devastations brought by the past typhoons and
heavy flooding.
Governor Lee, meanwhile, stressed that it
is imperative to strengthen the disaster preparedness and response efforts of
all LGUs in the province. “Undeniably, there is a need to forge alliances with
development partners like the GIZ to prevent untimely loss of life and further
damage to properties,” the local chief executive also said.
The project is financially supported by the
European Community under the Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO)
within the Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO) Action Plan 8, and the
German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).
GIZ is a
federally-owned enterprise that supports the German government in the field of
international development cooperation. For more than 30 years now, GIZ has been
cooperating with Philippine partners in strengthening the capacity of people
and institutions to improve the lives of Filipinos in this generation and
generations to come. Together with its partners, they work to balance economic,
social and ecological interests through multi-stakeholder dialogue,
participation and collaboration. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon)
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