A LAWMAKER on Wednesday cited the need for Congress to pass a measure aiming to produce multi-hazard maps for each city and municipality in the country and integrate these tools into disaster risk reduction efforts and local development planning.
Parañaque Second District Rep Brian Raymund Yamsuan was referring to House Bill (HB) 4035 meant to strengthen the implementation of a new law allowing the government to declare a “State of Imminent Disaster,” which triggers a set of pre-emptive actions before a calamity occurs.
Republic Act (RA) 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 councils to implement anticipatory measures aimed at mitigating the impact of a forecast hazard before it hits or its most serious effects are felt.
“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 told the Manila Standard. Maricel V. Cruz
