OCD: Be ready for all types of weather threats

TACLOBAN CITY, Jan. 17  -- The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Eastern Visayas is pushing for stronger disaster preparedness for all types of weather disturbances after the tail-end of the cold front this week killed eight persons and displaced thousands in the region.

OCD regional director Edgar Posadas said no doubt local government units were ready for the impact of typhoons, tropical storms, tropical depressions, and low-pressure areas, but they were not well-prepared for the effects of the tail-end of a cold front, northeast monsoon and other abnormal weather phenomena.

“Our local disaster risk reduction and management council should realize that other weather disturbances bring heavy rains and sometimes more damaging than typhoons,” Posadas said.

“We want local authorities to adopt the same level of preparedness for typhoons,” he added.

The official said they held initial talks with the Department of the Interior and Local Government to implement the latter’s “Operation Listo (Alert)” program during the occurrence of a cold front and monsoon rains.

The initiative aims to strengthen the preparedness of local government units for disasters using the whole government approach for disaster preparedness.

“Operation Listo” began in 2014 with “Listong Pamahalaang Lokal” (Local Government on Alert), which institutionalized local protocols for disaster preparedness, response and monitoring.

The program was strategized to be more grassroots with its second component, the “Listong Pamayanan” (Community on Alert), which was a capacity development intervention that began from LGUs and cascaded to the community.

“Operation Listo” includes the creation and follow-through activities of the national association of local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) offices, the development and roll-out of community drills for tsunami or storm surge, and the development and roll-out of community-based DRRM.

At least eight people were killed in Eastern Visayas due to flooding and landslide caused by heavy rains this week, the OCD reported on Wednesday.

It said five of the eight fatalities were killed by landslide, two by drowning, and one by electrocution. Casualties were from this city, Jaro in Leyte, San Policarpo in Eastern Samar, and Catarman and Mondragon in Northern Samar.

Massive flooding was reported in two cities and 23 towns in Leyte, Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. (SQM/PNA)