Success Story: Environment and Rural Development (EnRD) Program Philippines Component 7: Support to Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Yolanda Affected Areas in the Visayas Dumaguete City: Zero casualty recorded in the midst of a tropical depression In just 55 minutes, 1,400 lives in danger zones were saved through the Local Flood Early Warning System (LFEWS) and with full cooperation of local communities In November 27, 2014, Banica River was rampaged by a flash flood, submerging some housing communities and their environs on a Thursday morning brought by tropical depression Queenie. Through a strong coordination and timely delivery of clear warnings from local government units and its Rescue Team 348, estimately 1,400 lives and Php1million worth of properties were saved in just 55 minutes before the vigorous flash floods have hit residences along Banica River in Negros Oriental. It was almost three in the morning of November 27 when a weather disturbance was observed in Dumaguete City, with a tropical depression tracking towards Visayas Region and Northern Mindanao. A heavy rainfall with 6.3mm rainfall in 30 minutes was recorded. Though there was heavy rainfall, the operation center (Rescue 348) did not observe an increase in the water level in the upstream part of Banica River yet, via an automatic, telemetered river level gauge. Rescue 348 decided to verify the data with manual observations from the bridge upstream for more accurate information. The rain continued until eight in the morning and alert warnings from Valencia Emergency Rescue Unit (VERU), the response team of the Municipality of Valencia, and from the river water monitoring station of Forest Camp Mountain resort were sent to Rescue 348 about the significant increase in the river water level in Valencia. Upon receipt of the alerting report, Rescue 348 immediately conducted a data validation from the rain gauge station in Barangay Apolong, indeed, 20.5mm of rainfall were already accumulated during the last hours. Engineer Jose Q. Chu Jr., head of Recue 348, immediately ordered all Barangay Captains to execute a pre-emptive and forced evacuation of all residents living near the Banica River. Orders were also communicated in various radio stations for faster information dissemination. “Upon receiving the news from our sources in Valencia, we rapidly ordered for a forced evacuation of all threatened families in the surrounding areas, some are already enduring a knee-high flood-waters, while others are still doing their daily routines, in fact some housewives were doing their laundry in separate locations, some men were also still collecting gravel and sand from the river and some children were even caught playing outside their house, ” he says, “everything was so normal throughout the night and in the early morning. No one is prepared to see a roaring in floodwater.” Flashflood reaches critical level shortly after 1,400 individuals were evacuated “We are very fortunate that our lives and properties were saved from the roaring floodwaters...” First, pregnant women, elderly, children and disabled persons were completely evacuated by nine o‘clock to safer places pre-identified per barangay. In just 15minutes, flash floods vigorously rushed in, submerging houses near the river. (From left to right) Manual observation of flash flood using staff gauge in the downstream level of Banica River and actual water gauge installed from the upstream bridge Communities were evacuated to safer place shortly after alert warnings were disseminated to achieve zero casualty amidst flooding. Since 2005, GIZ has been assisting municipalities in various provinces in being better prepared for disasters such as floods or landslides. GIZ finds that the biggest threats in rural communities especially in low lying areas are floods, which frequently come and destroy whatever people have built up and saved. Whenever these floods occur, it is the poor people that suffer the most. The Local Flood Early Warning System (LFEWS) warn people on the ground early enough of floods, so that they can evacuate to centers. People working from a 24/7 operation center like Rescue 348 observes and communicates occurence of danger via data collected from the upstream to the downstream, where people are living. This information is transmitted via radio frequencies and such alert warnings are being communicated to LGUs, villages and communities. Contact Max-Johannes Baumann Program Director and Principal Advisor Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH 2B PDCP Bank Center V.A. Rufino corner L.P. Leviste Sts. Salcedo Village, Makati City Philippines Phone Fax Email Web +63 2 892 9051 local 101 +62 2 892 3374 [email protected] http://www.enrdph.org In December of 2011, Typhoon Sendong have cut a swath of devastation in the province of Negros Oriental, almost 40 people, including children died while an undetermined number of families were left homeless after Typhoon Sendong brought heavy rains and flooding in Dumaguete City and other parts of Negros Oriental. In September of 2014, a Local Flood Early Warning System (LFEWS) became fully functional in Dumaguete City with support from the GIZ, serving more than 21,000 families and with over 14,000 of them are vulnerable to flooding. Tropical depression Queenie was the first weather disturbance experienced since its installation. The local government units took every step to prepare all communities from the rapid flashflood in Banica River. “We are very fortunate that residents living along the riverbanks were forewarned of the flooding. The city government of Dumaguete is grateful to the GIZ for installing LFEWS in our city.” said Engineer Jose Q. Chu of Rescue 348. This remarkable experience proves that an end-to-end early warning system does not only mean relying on the models and forecast provided by available tools such as the LFEWS, recognizing the importance of prompt manual observation on characteristics of the river, heightened awareness and timely delivery of clearer warnings also contributes to the achievement of a zero casualty. GIZ is a federally-owned enterprise that supports the German government in the field of international development cooperation. For more than 40 years now, GIZ has been cooperating with Philippine partners in strengthening the capacity of people and institutions to improve the lives of Filipinos in this generation and generations to come. Together we work to balance economic, social and ecological interests throught multi-stakeholder dialogue, participation and collaboration. About EnRD EnRD is jointly implemented by GIZ and the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). It applies from ridge to reef, an integrated development approach to natural resource governance in the Visayas focusing on Region VI and VIII (Panay, Negros, Leyte, Samar) by promoting rural development and the sustainable use of natural resources. The Program’s fields of work are participatory land use and development planning, integrated coastal management, community-based forest management, food security, disaster risk management and solid waste management.
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