PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan (PIA)–The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) MIMAROPA conducted pre-disaster risk assessment in the region as preparation to identify possible areas to be affected by the La Niña phenomenon.
Marc Rembrandt Victore, Civil Defense-MIMAROPA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division Officer-in-charge, said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas that the assessment is an impact-based forecasting to also measure the possible impact of the phenomenon to a certain locality.
“Para makita natin saan specific area na tatamaan and gaano kalaki ang magiging impact niyan to a certain locality At ano-ano ang immediate needs, anticipatory action na kailangan gawin,” he said.
This measure is also practiced whenever weather systems are monitored, he added.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) stated in its climate advisory on August 7 that the forecast from global climate models suggests a 70 percent probability of La Niña emerging during the months of August-October 2024 season.
The current forecast prompts the upgrade of PAGASA of its El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) alert and warning system to a La Niña Alert. From alert status, it is still most likely to upgrade to La Niña through the months of January-March 2025 season.
Even though no definite budget has been mentioned yet for the preparation in the region, Victore said that there is a quick response fund allotted from the local disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) budget of local DRRM councils and local government units.
“All it needs is a declaration of the state of calamity para magamit nila ‘yong kanilang quick response fund. This is 30 percent of their local disaster risk reduction and management fund,” Victore said. (RG/PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
