The Office of Civil Defense-Davao plans to meet with local government officials and relevant government agencies next month to develop strategies for enhancing the region’s resilience to disasters.
On Monday, January 22, Ednar Dayanghirang, the head of OCD-Davao, announced the initiation of a Flooding Dialogue Series aimed at identifying solutions to the persistent issue of flooding in the region.
Dayanghirang initiated this in response to the extensive flooding and landslides that occurred last week, impacting at least 110,000 individuals in the provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao de Oro, Davao Occidental, and Davao Oriental.
The OCD-Davao official clarified that he intends to conduct dialogues in each municipality or province to tackle and resolve specific issues in each area. Dayanghirang further mentioned that certain local problems might require intervention not only at the regional level but also from the national government.
He pointed to the flooding in Carmen town in Davao del Norte, where a mangrove area, which the local government aimed to remove, was identified as the cause. The objective was to facilitate the drainage of floodwater into the Davao Gulf.
However, the mayor was stopped by a government agency since it is prohibited to cut mangroves. “So, what happened was a stalemate. We need to come up with a win-win solution,” Dayanghirang said.
Flooding resulted in the submersion of numerous barangays in Carmen, primarily caused by the expansion of river systems.
Meanwhile, OCD administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center executive director Ariel Nepomuceno told The STAR that as of 5 p.m. yesterday, the death toll had climbed to 15.
Nepomuceno mentioned that his office is in the process of verifying the data, which includes the seven reported casualties immediately following the landslide on Mt. Diwata on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, 15 casualties were reported, but we still have to validate these. Allegedly, landslides caused their deaths,” Nepomuceno told The STAR on Viber yesterday.
Also Read: 7 killed in Davao de Oro landslide
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