By Gaby B. Keith

 

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — In strengthening climate and disaster resilience, the city government joined the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative, a global United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)-led program, and committed to achieving resilient city status by 2026.

Through Executive Order number 94 series of 2024 issued by Mayor Benjamin Magalong, a technical working group was created  to start the transition according to City Mayor’s Office chief-of-staff Samantha Jean Hamada in her State of Local Governance Report presentation at the Executive-Legislative meeting, July 14, City Hall, aimed at briefing newly-elected local officials.

She said a major advancement in the city’s flood preparedness is the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS), launched in partnership with Asian Development Bank, Ramboll, and Practical Action.

Operational since 2023, the system uses real-time hydrological sensors across key river basins and feeds data into the Baguio Smart City Command Center, enabling the city to issue flood alerts with up to 20 minutes of lead time, Hamada added.

In addition to FEWS, she said the city implemented a Landslide Early Warning System (LEWS) in Barangay Dontogan developed by the CALAMI-T Project of the University of the Cordilleras in partnership with DOST-Philippine Council.

“LEWS uses sensors to track soil movement, soil moisture, rainfall, and temperature, providing essential data to mitigate landslide risks,” Hamada explained.

She said Baguio was recognized as “Beyond Compliant” in both the 2023 and 2024 Gawad KALASAG Awards and was commended by the National Resilience Council in 2023 for its leadership in sustainable urban resilience.