“Tsunami Hill” proposed to be built in Pugaro Island
IS there a real and present danger of a tsunami hitting Dagupan?
The city administration seems to believe so and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) is actually planning to build a “Tsunami Hill” in the island barangay of Pugaro, which is supposed to serve as a refuge for the residents should the natural calamity strike.
However, the CDRRMC is not certain how it will go about the project.
Arlene Agpoon, one of the action officers of the CDRRMC, appearing before the Sangguniang Panlungsod on February 7 for the ongoing 2012 budget hearings, could not give details on the project, including where the fund will come from to build a “hill” on an island.
The SP has sent an invitation anew to City Administrator Vladimir Mata, who is also concurrently the head of the CDRRMC, to appear before the SP to explain the project.
“That was the first time that we heard about this ‘tsunami hill’ which was why we asked officials of the CDCRRMC led by City Administrator Mata to return to the SP to give us details about the project,” said Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, chair of the SP.
The CDRRMC is reportedly eyeing the unspent balance of the 75 percent of CDRRMC fund allocated for disaster preparedness that has accumulated for several years as the source of funding for the project.
The CDCRRM began to plan the Tsunami Hill when Pugaro was chosen by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) under then Director Andrew Uy as a pilot area for disaster training and preparedness in Region 1 last year.
Fernandez said the council wants to know such details as where specifically in Barangay Pugaro the proposed Tsunami Hill will be built, where the rock and soil materials will be sourced, how high it will be and how many hectares of land it will occupy.
“Is there any land owned by the city of Dagupan where the Tsunami Hill would be built?” Fernandez asked, adding that in her opinion, the project needs further study not only by the city planners but also experts from the national government.
PHIVOLCS
Agpoon did confirm that Dagupan is “under threat of tsunami originating from the Lingayen Gulf”.
She added that given the threat, tsunami preparedness training has been conducted for the residents.
Nevertheless, the SP has asked the office of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Renato Solidum to send one of its volcanologists to Dagupan to apprise the council on the threat of tsunami to the city.
“This is in order to be able to alert our citizens to make the necessary preparations in case a tsunami emanating from the Lingayen Gulf will strike the city,” Fernandez said.
At the same time, the vice mayor added, a tsunami hill might also be needed in other coastal areas of Dagupan facing the Lingayen Gulf.
DANGEROUS
A city official who asked not to be identified said the construction of a tsunami hill is not only expensive but also inadvisable as it may even pose added danger of landslide to residents of Pugaro.
He said it would be better that the city government distributes lifejackets or rafts.
“Siguro, it is better that we draw up plans on where Dagupan residents would go in case a tsunami strike, for instance in San Fabian, San Jacinto and Manaoag where there are areas of higher elevation,” Fernandez opined.
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