A House leader on Wednesday cited the need for Congress to enact a law for producing multi-hazard maps for each city and municipality, and to integrate this tool into disaster risk reduction planning.
Parañaque Second District Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said House Bill 4035, once enacted, would strengthen a new law allowing the government to declare a “State of Imminent Disaster,” which triggers a set of preemptive actions.
Republic Act 12287, or the Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster Act, signed recently by President Marcos, enables the National, Regional, and Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Councils to implement anticipatory measures aimed at mitigating the impact of a forecast hazard before it hits.
“While disasters cannot be prevented, it is possible to mitigate their impact by understanding their behavior and adopting science-based and data-driven strategies. One such approach is hazard mapping,” Yamsuan, vice chair of the House committee on public information, said in a statement to Manila Standard.
“Multi-hazard maps would provide our DRRM councils with effective tools in implementing the Declaration of Imminent Disaster Law. On top of being helpful for land use planning, these maps would aid the DRRM councils in pinpointing the most vulnerable areas where preemptive action should be urgently carried out to help save lives and reduce losses before a calamity strikes,” he added.
