Geo-hazard map now plots villages
DAGUPAN CITY, March 27 (PIA) - Geo-hazard maps can now plot boundaries down to the villages and sub-villages, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said.
The MGB said it has narrowed down the scale mapping to one is to 50,000 (1:50,000).
Engr. Carlos Tayag, regional director of MGB in the Ilocos, said 1:50,000 means that the map can show barangays with one centimeter for every five kilometer radius making it easier to identify various geological features and associated hazards like flooding, earthquakes and landslides.
“A practical example of the map’s usefulness is when somebody sells you a house, you can refer to the map and see if the area is susceptible to various geo-hazards. You would know if it is safe or not before you buy it,” Tayag explained.
He said the geo-hazard mapping aims to identify areas in the country that are prone to various geologic hazards and provide the vital information to different stakeholders to mitigate its impact.
The bureau plans to narrow down the scale further to 1:10,000 where the public can identify even the smallest sitios in the villages, he added.
“This is a critical component of the national government’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Program where pieces of information generated from the mapping will be made available to authorities responsible for land use planning and classification,” Tayag said during the 13th Regional Mining Summit held in Dagupan City recently.
The MGB has accomplished 68 percent of the total targeted areas for mapping and assessment.
The geo-hazard map is downloadable at the websites of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (www.denr.gov.ph) , Department of Science and Technology (www.dost.gov.ph) and the Philippine Information Agency (www.pia.gov.ph) (MCA/VHS/PIA1-Pangasinan)