THE recent flash flood in some of the areas in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental has prompted City Mayor Rolando "Klarex" Uy and Governor Pedro Unabia to work together to come up with a better response in times of disaster.
On October 16, a flash flood hit Barangay Bugo in Cagayan de Oro and Barangay Casinglot in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, which caused the death of three persons and forced around 10,000 individuals to evacuate.
During the Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental Coordination Meeting on October 20, one of the things agreed upon by the city mayor and the governor was the sharing of early warning information and search and rescue assets between the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department (CDRRMD) and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO).
Uy and Unabia also appealed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to fast-track the approval of river dredging applications.
Uy said the completion of the drainage projects by DPWH is crucial in flood control.
"Bisan unsaon daghan drainage, kinahanglan gyud ang desilting sa atong mga suba. Ang problema kay dugay ang pag-approve sa dredging sa DPWH Central Office," Uy said.
According to the DPWH, the third-party study on the proposed dredging of the heavily silted Cagayan de Oro and Iponan rivers is to be finished in November this year. The proposal was made before the Sendong flood in 2011.
Unabia, for his part, said he would raise the issue of prolonged dredging approval with the League of Provinces of the Philippines. (SunStar Philippines)