Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Philippines launches online disaster hotspots map

World Worst Disasters
MANILA — The Philippines, battered by at least 20 typhoons a year and deadly landslides, has drawn up a map of its disaster zones, the country's environment minister said Wednesday.

The online geo-hazard map covers more than 1,600 municipalities nationwide, and will allow individuals, local governments and developers to check whether their properties are in danger zones, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said.

"Everyone can just go to the website and check the hazards pertaining to their locality," Ramon Paje told reporters.

"It says there (in the map), what is the permanent danger zone, what is hazardous and what are the low-lying areas."

The online map has been in the works since about 2006 but the urgency of the task was made clear only after tropical storm Ketsana struck the Philippine capital a year ago, bringing massive flooding and landslides.

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