Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) assures that Pampanga is ready for the rainy season.
During the quarterly meeting of the PDRRM council, PDRRMO Chief Angelina Blanco reported that 8,900 meters was desilted in five barangays in Candaba, Apalit, Arayat, and Lubao towns from January to March this year.
“This is one way to prevent flooding. We are also continuously doing other flood mitigation projects in coordination with our district engineering offices. These include infrastructure projects, drainages, rehabilitation, restoration, repair, slope and dike protection, as well as prepositioning of resources on strategic locations,” Blanco said.
She also said that evacuation centers in the province are ready to accommodate evacuees in case of flooding and other calamities.
These include the permanent evacuation center in San Isidro, Magalang which can accommodate 1,015 individuals; the evacuation centers in Sta. Catalina, Lubao and San Roque, Mexico which can accommodate 500 individuals each; and the Porac Techno Center and Floridablanca Techno Center which can accommodate 800 individuals each.
Meanwhile, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office reported that at least 18,000 food packs are available at the different warehouses of the province.
Aside from the food packs, the PDRRMO said other available food items like rice, sardines, corned beef; non-food items like sleeping mats, slippers, women’s undergarments; facemasks and face shield; medicines from the Provincial Health Office; veterinary medicines and supplies from the Provincial Veterinary Office; rice stocks from the National Food Authority; 35,000 empty sacks for sandbagging operations; and 5,500 bags of rice certified seeds are also prepositioned.
“In terms of heavy equipment and mobilization assistance, other agencies including the Provincial Engineering Office, General Services Office, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Armed Forces of the Philippines also assured and confirmed their readiness and cooperation during the rainy season and in different rescue operations,” Blanco said.
She also assured that the province’s response teams are well-trained in different capabilities including collapsed structure search and rescue, vehicular extrication, water search and rescue, fire rescue, first aid, and basic life support.
PDRRMO, she added, has been also active in its information dissemination activities to inform the public on how to prepare for the rainy season.
“We have alerted respective PDRRMC regional and local counterparts and field stations for any possible response operations and augmentations. We also advised early harvesting and late planting, as well as delayed fertilizer application and pesticides spraying for standing crop to minimize input losses,” Blanco said.
District hospitals were also provided advisories for the facilities, resources, and teams to be on standby for possible response augmentation.
An early warning system in the upland landslide prone area in San Juan Baño in Arayat town was also being installed.
PAGASA declared the start of the rainy season on June 4, 2021 with the passage of Tropical Storm Dante in the country. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)