Canlaon City disaster management officers and barangay disaster responders participating in the Introductory Training-Seminar on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management held on March 25, 2025 in Canlaon City. The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Region 7 facilitated the training-seminar as part of its capacity-building measures for the community. (KAT/PIA7-Negros Oriental)
CANLAON CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) – Geologists are urging local disaster risk reduction and management officers to maximize the use of geohazard maps being provided by the national government.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) senior geologist Russyl Bryile Lanzaderas said the geohazard maps are helpful in establishing a baseline data on areas that are prone to natural hazards such as landslides, flooding, and storm surges.
Lanzaderas said the maps also help prevent the loss of lives and damage to properties during calamities.
“Before pwede ra bisan asa mopuyo: kung naa na ta diha kilid sa sapa or kilid sa bukid, or duol sa bulkan. But karon naa gyud tay guidelines na dili ni pwede ning mga area. If you have seen the map of Phivolcs, particularly in Kanlaon, naa sab nay mga maps and delineation asa ang possible na lahar flow, (ug) pyroclastic density currents,” said Lanzaderas during the DRRM seminar held in Canlaon City on March 25.
(We were allowed to live anywhere before, even beside a river or on the mountain slope or near the volcano. However, people are no longer permitted to live there because of our existing guidelines. If you have seen Phivolcs’ map particularly on Mt. Kanlaon, you can see there the delineation where there could be a possible lahar flow or pyroclastic density currents can flow.)
MGB’s geohazard maps are focused on landslides, flooding, and storm surges in coastal areas, while the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has its own geohazard maps for volcanic hazards, including ashfall, lavaflow, and pyroclastic density currents, and also earthquakes.
