THE Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Davao Region urged the local government units to make use of the more specific 1:10,000 scale geo-hazard map in the municipal and city planning.
In an interview at the sidelines of the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao on Monday, lawyer Wilfredo Moncano, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Mines Management Division (MMD) of the MGB Davao Region, said these new updated geo-hazard maps indicate a more specific information on areas that are susceptible to flashfloods and landslides up to sitio-level.
The new information is critical in mapping out a new development of an LGU.
The previous 1:50,000 geo-hazard map was done on a municipal scale, which failed to specifically indicate, for instance, areas in the barangays that have higher susceptibility to flooding and landslides.
"There are areas indicated in the 1:50,000 geo-hazard map that seemed to be safe, but not with the 1:10,000 scale," he said.
The bureau started the geo-hazard mapping on a scale of 1:10,000 last year, but completed only on May 15, 2015.
For his part, MGB Davao Regional Director Edilberto Arreza said they are providing these maps as a reference for the LGUs in mapping out community developments.
A more specific geo-hazard map is necessary in the development of a municipality or a city to ensure that the new infrastructures are built on safe and solid ground.
Based on the new geo-hazard map, susceptibility is classified into three: low, medium, and high risks.
Those areas in the low and medium allow developments but will depend on the engineering interventions of the company while those classified as high do not allow any.
Moncano clarified that the agency has no police power to enforce a "no habitation" policy in areas that have been identified as high risk, only the LGUs have.
"We are just in the recommendation. We cannot declare of no habitation in the proposed development," he added.
The MGB Davao Region is set to distribute the 1:10,000 geo-hazard maps to over 1,000 barangays across the region.