With the help of GIS hazard maps, LGUs can take decisive action.

With the Philippines being the 3^rd most disaster prone country in the world, the importance and necessity for GIS hazard maps cannot be underestimated, and now more than ever, mapping hazards and monitoring warning signs is vital for helping keep the country safe due to the prevalence of natural disasters that occur.

November 29, 2004 - Quezon province;

-Heavy rains brought on by four successive typhoons caused flood-waters to raise swiftly, over 1000 people died due to these floods.

The death toll was so high because the towns that were affected by the floods were all located along the side of the Siera Madre Mountain Range which is extremely prone to landslides.

After two weeks of incessant rain, portions of the mountain came crashing down the steep slopes into the towns located along the river delta.

The tragedy led to a rethink, and a significant boost of support for hazard mapping in the Philippines.

Earthquakes:

A frightening statistic that highlights the urgent need for detailed hazard maps and disaster preparedness is the fact that since 1948 there has been 10 major earthquakes in the Philippines with a magnitude of 6.7 or higher (the majority being around the magnitude 7 - 8 region.)

These earthquakes resulted in over 7000 deaths, 14,000 serious injuries, and 10’s of billions of pesos worth of damage.

Typhoons:

Another type of natural disaster that occurs in the Philippines with extreme frequency is typhoons.

Since the year 2000 alone, Typhoons have caused the deaths of over 12,000 people. The most notable recent typhoon was Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, which caused the deaths of over 6000 people.

For Metro Manila’s mayors, ignorance to the risk of natural disasters is no longer a valid excuse.   

LGUs:

With GIS maps, LGUs now have the ability to plot the levels of risk across Metro Manila and the Philippines due to typhoons, floods, earthquakes, landslides and fires. GIS hazard maps also provide critical information useful for policy makers and disaster management agencies to minimize risks.

Through these maps, local government officials can better prepare for a disaster in the short, medium and long term.

Local government units and the local chief executives must know the hazards and risks in their respective communities. Even though LGUs may not be able to prevent disasters, they can empower themselves to prevent lost lives and economic resources.

LGUs and government disaster risk management agencies can carefully assess the risk in an area, and plan out a long term plan. Detailed long term planning can only be done with all the required data being available. With GIS maps, LGUs can now be readily prepared for such scenarios.

The Valley Fault System (VFS), composed of the West Valley Fault and the East Valley Fault, slices the northeastern side of the metropolis with the potential to cause major damage if the fault ruptures.

It is highly likely for an earthquake to occur along the VFS within a half century. The VFS has moved roughly every 400 years in the last 1,400 years, and the last movement of the VFS occurred in 1658, or 355 years ago.

There is a common misconception that high-rise buildings are generally riskier than low or medium rise buildings, however the highest damage will be the medium rise or residential (buildings) because the sway is worse in lower buildings, thus more damage.

The Phivolcs has established a buffer zone of 5 meters on each side of the fault line where no one should be allowed to build anything, however rapid urban development has made this difficult to enforce.

With a population of over 13 million people, the Greater Metro Manila Area has one of the highest population densities in the world, and with the information from GIS hazard maps, there is now hope that local government officials are empowered and have the ability to be more pro-active in planning and disaster risk reduction.