Iligan takes concrete action to build resilience, adopts flood contingency plan
Press release
Iligan – One and a half years after the process began, the Sagguniang Panglungsod of Iligan has voted to adopt its new flood contingency plan which includes more detailed information for better land use planning.
The local government of Iligan through the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) worked with the Climate Change Commission (CCC) on the formulation of the contingency plan. The activity was carried out in the framework of the CCC program “Enabling the cities of Cagayan De Oro and Iligan and the provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental to cope with climate change” or Project Climate Twin Phoenix. CCC is the implementing agency of Project Climate Twin Phoenix and is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Australian Government.
The formulation of the flood contingency plan, which started in December 2012, focused on communities in Iligan which were greatly devastated by tropical storm Washi (Sendong) in 2011.
“We congratulate our local partners—City Mayor Celso Regencia, the Chairman of the CDRRMC, Councilor Frederick Siao who heads the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction Management and Climate Change Adaptation and his members, and local planners, for their commitment to make their communities safe and secure”, says CCC Vice Chairperson, Secretary Mary Lucille Sering.
“This accomplishment is testament to the city’s proactive approach in strengthening its disaster risk reduction program”, she added.
The flood contingency plan benefitted from a series of activities which included the intensive trainings and workshops of the different members of the CDRRM Council during the formulation of the contingency plan and the conduct of the Simultaneous Warming Communication and evacuation Flood Drill to test the contingency plan’s usability.
“It is the priority of the local government of Iligan to build the capacity of our communities and our responders and put in place the systems to carry out disaster risk reduction and management activities so everyone knows what to do and where to go during emergencies and disasters”, says Iligan City Mayor Celso Regencia.
The Iligan City flood contingency plan has been completed pursuant to Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.