June 2015—When a tropical storm hit a small village in the Philippines last year, a simple yet effective flood early warning system proved its worth, saving lives and better preparing residents for the inevitable natural disasters that affect the region.

The Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary is a 19,196-hectare protected area in Mindanao, the southernmost region of the Philippines. Nearly 120,000 people inhabit its lakes, forests and rice paddies, settling along the marsh in stilted homes and floating communities. Increasingly, villagers are being affected by the impacts of climate change such as floods, droughts and typhoons.

Around 80 percent of the population belongs to the indigenous Manobo tribe. They depend on the marsh’s abundant resources for farming, fishing, firewood and hunting wildlife.

Romy Otacan, chairperson of the La Flora barangay, or village, in the municipality of Talacogon explains that heavy rains overflow the rivers and lakes, sometimes submerging entire villages. “The people are accustomed to annual rains, but the floods are getting heavier and affecting more areas,” he says.

In November 2012, USAID, in partnership with the Philippine Partnership for Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas, launched the Agusan Marsh Climate Change Adaptation Project to help 61 villages, including La Flora, increase their resiliency to climate change.

Besides developing farmers’ skills on climate-smart agricultural practices and strengthening local policies on disaster risk reduction, the project developed hazard maps using geographic information systems as well as flood early warning systems. Outreach campaigns taught families how to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

In La Flora, USAID introduced a simple flood early warning system featuring color-coded markings painted on houses, electric posts, schools and other public structures. When water reaches the yellow mark, residents monitor weather and flood forecasts, while orange signals residents to prepare belongings and pre-evacuate women, children and the elderly. Red prompts evacuation.

The system was put to the test in January 2014 when tropical depression Omais swept through Mindanao, affecting nearly half a million people.

“The water reached 24 feet. Only the tallest rooftops and floating houses could be seen. Everything else was underwater,” recalls Otacan. Prior to this, he says, floods only reached 10 feet.

Despite the calamity, La Flora residents adhered to the flood warning system and the entire village of 1,120 people survived. “We could not have been more prepared,” said Otacan.

Maribeth Amado, a La Flora resident, used the system to protect her family. “My husband and I watched the water rise, so we packed our marriage certificate, the birth certificates of our five children, and land title,” she says. When the water reached the orange mark, she moved her family to safety.

Like Amado, residents voluntarily moved when flooding neared dangerous levels. “Nobody was forced to evacuate, allowing rescue teams time to bring everybody to safety as our protocol required,” said Otacan.

USAID established the flood early warning system in all of the project's 61 barangays throughout Agusan Marsh, benefiting nearly 100,000 people. To further strengthen local capacity for managing disasters, USAID trained more than 1,500 residents and local government officials to develop community-based flood early warning system protocols and hazard maps, conduct search and rescue operations, and manage climate risk data. The project ends in October 2015.

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