LGUs expected to plan better
DETAILED GEOHAZARD MAPS
LOCAL government units can now plan and prepare better against natural calamities with more detailed geohazard maps from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
Engr. Carlos Tayag, regional director of MGB, said the maps have now been narrowed down at a scale of one is to 50,000 (1:50,000).
This means, Tayag explained, that maps can show barangays or villages in a certain town at a scale of one centimeter for every five kilometer radius, making it easier to identify various geological features and associated hazards like flooding, earthquakes and landslides in specific areas.
“A practical example of the map’s usefulness is when somebody sells you a house, you can refer to the map and see if the area of the house being sold is susceptible to various geohazards. You would know if it is safe or not before you buy it,” Tayag explained during the 13th Regional Mining Summit held in Dagupan City on Tuesday.
“This is a critical component of the national government’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Program where pieces of information generated from the mapping will be made available to authorities responsible for land use planning and classification,” Tayag said
The bureau plans to narrow down the scale further to 1:10,000 where the public can identify even the smallest sitios in the villages, he added.
MGB has accomplished around 68 percent of the total targeted areas for mapping and assessment.
The geohazard map is downloadable at the websites of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (denr.gov.ph) , Department of Science and Technology (www.dost.gov.ph) and the Philippine Information Agency (pia.gov.ph).–(PIA1-Pangasinan/VHS)
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