NDRRMC identifies 4 key areas in disaster response

With the rainy season comes the fear of massive floods that could potentially wipe out whole communities. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Alexander Pama said they are now preparing for calamities by identifying four key areas: Prevention and Mitigation, handled by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through weather forecasts; Preparedness, through the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to prepare municipalities for disasters; Response, with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in charge, especially in delivering relief; and Rehabilitation and Recovery, headed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). "We approach hazards now in the context of hazard-specific, area-focused and time-bound. Meaning to say we deal with the preparation and the forecasting for every hazard," Pama said. ANC Dateline Philippines, July 8, 2014