THE Davao City Disaster Risks Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) is planning to relocate residents in calamity-prone areas

CDDRMO chief Alfredo Baluran initially identified the areas of Matina Crossing, Bankerohan, 19-B, Ma-a, Talomo, and Lasang as calamity-vulnerable areas.

Baluran said these areas are near the Davao River that overflows during heavy rain.

Tropical Depression Chedeng made landfall in Davao region on Tuesday, March 19, displacing over 4,000 individuals based on the records of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD 11) Davao regional office as of March 19.

Baluran said the city government is looking into relocating some residents living near rivers to disaster-resilient tenements.

"Mao na isa sa among ginatan-aw ron. Naa mi ongoing workshop sa Davao City Comprehensive Land Use Plan (It is one of the solutions that we are eyeing at. We have ongoing workshops at the Davao City Comprehensive Land Use Plan)," Baluran said during the iSpeak media forum at the Davao City Hall.

The CDRRMO chief said interventions were already made for these areas to ensure that residents will be evacuated during a calamity.

"We had already installed early warning devices in the area, such as sirens. We also installed water level gates to determine if medyo nasa critical levels na ang water, especially along Talomo and Davao River," he said.

However, he added that there are still some stubborn residents who defy CDDRMO's forced evacuation orders.

"As much as possible, wala na ta'y dapat i-rescue ana kay nagpahigayon naman ta og pre-emptive evacuation," Baluran said.

He also said the "no rescue policy" that he ordered does not mean that they will no longer rescue stranded residents who fail to evacuate for various reasons.