LGU told: Close roads, bridges when storms start

Interior and Local Govern­ment Secretary Ismael ‘Mike’ D. Sueno instructed local gov­ernment units (LGUs) to carry out proactive measures and implement temporary closure of roads, bridges, and oth­er critical thoroughfares not limited to rivers, streams and other bodies of water that are being used for public trans­port upon alert of impending disasters.

Sueno, who is the concur­rent vice-chairman of the Na­tional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said “Compla­cence is risk-taking while pre­vention is security. Prepared­ness starts with LGUs as social protectors of communities and families.”

In a directive, he urged all provincial governors including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional governor, city and municipal mayors, punong barangays, and DILG regional offices to identify national and local roads and bridges that will likely be affected by an im­pending disaster and identify alternate routes for all tempo­rary closures accordingly.

The secretary further en­joined LGUs to issue an ad­visory to all concerned, par­ticularly the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Fran­chising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), prior to the imple­mentation of the temporary closure of affected areas. He also prodded LGUs to pass a local ordinance regarding the matter and develop a Standard Operating Procedure as basis for future use.

“Flooding and rain-in­duced landslides on critical thoroughfares can hamper economic activities, cause ma­jor damages to infrastructure and facilities as well as acci­dents that may result to loss of lives,” said Sueno.

LGUs, he said, must closely coordinate with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for national roads and bridges, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DEN­R)-Mines and Geoscienc­es Bureau (MGB) for flood and rain-induced landslide prone areas, and Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Philippine Atmo­spheric Geophysical and As­tronomical Services Adminis­tration (PAGASA) for rainfall projections for the identifica­tion of areas that require tem­porary road closures.