While typhoons, earthquakes and other natural hazards occur across geographical boundaries, its impacts are very much localized—small-scale farmers displaced from their farms, water and electricity supply cut-off for days or weeks, damaged school buildings and hospitals. These are just some of the possible scenarios that local government units (LGUs) deal with in times of disasters.

Experiences in the past showed that relief operation, community rehabilitation, and other response-oriented disaster management measures are not enough. LGUs need to be more proactive in understanding disaster risks and in developing communities’ resilience to potential hazards.

The World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) Project has partnered with four (4) research and training centers/organizations in the Philippines to strengthen the capacities of the LGUs in reducing vulnerability to disaster impacts and in managing related risks.

The end goal is to make LGUs more capable of protecting the lives of their citizens and their economic assets from natural hazards especially those living in the disaster hotspots of the Philippines.