Barangay Banago in Bacolod City will be the pilot site of the “Noah’s Ark” project, a disaster-preparedness initiative for flood-prone communities, initiated by the Corporate Network for Disaster Response, for the City and Negros Occidental.

Hilda Tabar-Cleofe, executive director of CNDR, said in yesterday’s signing of the Statement of Commitment on disaster risk reduction at the Bacolod Government Center, that the six-month project implementation will start after the three-day planning workshop that is ongoing and participated in by barangay officials of the city.

The Commitment was entered into between the Bacolod City government, CNDR, and Smart Communications Inc.

It was either barangay Mandalagan or Banago, but the latter was chosen because it is more prone to floods, being a coastal barangay, Cleofe said.

She said Banago officials and residents will be trained in risk assessment, contingency planning and community drill, which are the capacity-building components of the project.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who “conditionally” signed the Commitment pending a formal authority from the Sangguniang Panlungsod, said he hopes that what will be learned from the workshop, will be harmonized with the output from the national disaster reduction summit, to be held in Bacolod on Saturday.

Maria Jane Paredes, senior manager for Public Affairs of Smart VisMin, said that, through the “Noah’s Ark” project, the capacities of the city and barangay disaster risk reduction and management councils will be strengthened to prepare for and cope with the impact of flooding.

Councilor Caesar Distrito said one of the priorities of the city government is to help eradicate and stop flooding, adding it is better to be prepared than just respond when a disaster has already struck.

“Noah’s Ark” is aimed at increasing the resilience and preparedness of the city and its high-risk communities to achieve zero casualties in times of disasters, the CNDR added.

Meanwhile, 50 street names and 20 street railings were turned over by Smart to the city, to help in its traffic and peace and order concerns.*CGC

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