The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in

Casiguran town in Sorsogon Province was forced by waist-deep flooding to evacuate families
from low-lying villages on Wednesday. A minimum of 68 families in the villages of Boton, Sta.
Cruz, Trece Marites, and Rizal were evacuated, according to Luisito H. Mendoza, Casiguran
MDRRM officer, as non-stop heavy rain caused rivers to swell. Due to a minor landslide, a
family in Casay village was also evacuated. Mendoza has said that no one has been confirmed
injured.

Meanwhile, classes were suspended at all levels in Casiguran and Donsol, said Joseph
John Perez, DRRM Coordinator of the Sorsogon Division’s Department of Education. At all
stages, Juban and Pilar also suspended classes beginning at 9:00 a.m. from Wednesday. In the
meantime, municipalties like Irosin, Magallanes, Barcelona, Matng, Bulan, Castilla, Bulusan,
Gubat, Sta. Magdalena and Prieto Diaz have all suspended classes from pre-school to
secondary.

San Rouque Bridge, Dinapa-Cogon Bridge, and Pandaan Bridge were not permissible
as of 8 a.m. in Castilla area. According to Edgar Ardales Jr., Castilla, after a river flooded,
restricting all kinds of light duty vehicles from passing by, the corresponding officials from every
municipality in Sorsogon Province are put to work by Republic Act 10121, also recognized as
the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Program. The system has 4 thematic
areas of the framework.

First, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Flood alert systems have been built by
each municipality on sites along the river. This will help them understand when to behave and
thus lead us to the second area, the Disaster Preparedness. Readiness is being undertaken in
the second area when an immnent calamity is coming. Places in low-lying ares are relocated.
Some municipalties have evacuated many families impacted by flooding and landslides such as
Casiguran. Due to excessive overflooding on bridges, some places are unavailable. This leads
us to the third area, the Disaster Response, when a calamity occurs. This is where the
individuals from various area, such as police, firefighters and NDRRM authorities, respond to
those that are affected in response. They evacuate individuals into safer areas and keep them
before they can return safely. And the last area are the Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery.
Officials are securing areas in this area where the affected families and communities are
partially secured until the area is secure.

The importance of knowing and having the knowledge of the Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Program is that an individual is always prepared whenever calamities are
possible. We know what to do during this time and what to expect.

News Link: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/957124/news-sorsogon-weather-rain-flooding-

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