The importance of Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

A person's safety during calamities is mainly dependent on their community's disaster preparedness. No matter how ready they are for all possible catastrophic scenarios, every bit of preparation can go down the drain if their community cannot respond effectively to such events. 

 

It is why a community-based disaster risk reduction and management plan (CBDRRMP) is essential. It places the responsibility of being prepared for calamities and other emergencies on the community as a whole, ensuring that organizations, households and individuals can work together in making their community more resilient in the face of disaster.

CBDRRMP is important, especially for countries highly vulnerable to disasters, such as the Philippines. Situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire and typhoon belt, the Philippines is frequented by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and typhoons respectively. The country ranked 9th in the world in terms of vulnerability to calamities in the 2020 World Risk Index. 

One of the most common events experienced by the Philippines is flooding, which underscores the importance of effective floodwater management. There are many ways that local government units are doing this. Efforts range from structural measures such as sizeable underground drainage systems, floodways, pumping stations, flood warning systems, and urban greening to non-structural measures such as minimizing plastic waste, a primary culprit in urban flooding.

With the country situated on five active fault lines, Filipinos must also prepare for earthquakes. It is why many buildings are equipped with earthquake-resistance features. Taking earthquake resilience in the country further are the periodic earthquake drills implemented at the national and organizational levels.

These are good examples of effective CBDRR, where both the authorities and the citizens work together to ensure the safety of life and property in their communities.

SM City Masinag has a rainwater collection tank that can store 17,681 cubic meters of water.

As a trusted and responsible developer of integrated properties, SM has always been committed to promoting Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) in its communities, which is evident in many of its malls that employ infrastructure design centered on disaster resilience. SM allocates 10% of its capital expenditures to incorporate disaster-resilient features, of which installing water management design features is one of them. 

Artist's illustration of SM's rainwater collection facility in 22 SM Malls nationwide.

A few examples of these are SM City Marikina, elevated by several rows of concrete stilts to protect tenants and mall-goers during extreme floods. SM Mall of Asia was built with a storm surge barrier for added protection during storm surges, and several malls employ catchment tanks for recycling rainwater.

Across the country, there are 22 SM Malls that have rainwater collection tanks under the mall. All these malls combined can catch and store 79,880 cubic meters of rainwater, equivalent to 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools. 

“Wherever SM is, we try to help our communities become resilient to changing weather patterns,” explains Arch. Fides Garcia-Hsu, Vice President of SM Engineering, Design and Development.  “Nationwide, we have 22 malls equipped with rainwater catchment facilities that help rain water management to avoid flash floods for surrounding communities.”

SM City Olongapo Central's rainwater collection tank can hold up to 14,580 cubic meters of water.

Supporting these are several initiatives focused capacity-building for its stakeholders. It includes workshops & learning sessions on Disaster Risk Resilience Management and regular participation in the quarterly national simultaneous earthquake drills for its employees, and the annual Emergency Preparedness Forum for persons with disabilities and the elderly, two of the most vulnerable sectors of society during disasters.

Similarly, in line with its multi-stakeholder approach, SM Prime has also continuously built long-term partnerships with organizations that advocate for a disaster-resilient Philippines. It includes collaborations with ARISE-Philippines, the National Resilience Council, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Office of Civil Defense, and the Bureau of Fire Protection, to name a few.

SM City San Mateo's rainwater collection tank can collect 10,800 cubic meters of potential floodwater.

ABOUT SM PRIME HOLDINGS

SM Prime, one of the leading integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, remains committed to its role as a catalyst for economic growth, delivering innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities, thereby enriching the quality of life of millions of people. Sustainability and Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience form part of SM Prime's core business strategies. It ensures that its risk-informed investments catalyze sustainable development and positive change in the communities where it operates.

For more information on SM Prime Holdings and its other programs towards disaster preparedness, visit their website at www.smprime.com. 

SM Reinvents ‘Building on Stilts’ as a Climate Resilient Design for the Future

Floods and rising water levels brought about by typhoons are perennial problems in Marikina city, which is considered as one of the low-lying areas of Metro Manila. During typhoons, Marikina River’s water can rise up to 23 meters compared to its normal average level of 13 meters. While this causes the communities surrounding the Marikina Watershed to be underwater, SM Marikina stands tall, serving as a safe haven to its neighboring communities.

The secret?  It is sitting on 246 stilts. 

SM City Marikina is uniquely designed. The 6-hectare mall property which is located within the Marikina River Watershed is an elevated mall built on top of 246 stilts. 

“A critical part of building climate resilient structures is to understand weather patterns and how it affects the environment where your city or building will be,” explained Architect Fides Garcia-Hsu, Vice President of SM Engineering Design and Development (SM EDD). “During the design phase of SM City Marikina, we considered the long-term flood cycles of the Marikina Watershed, which was identified to be a high-risk area by the World Bank in 1977.”

Building on stilts traces back to ancient civilization from different parts of the world. The answer lies in its powerful functionality. Elevated construction had been the way earliest people groups would protect themselves from flooding, moisture and surface organisms. It also gives them provision for open space storage or cultural activities. Lastly, it reduces cost in modifying natural terrain. While building on stilts have been adopted by modern architects through the years, people had lost interest in it during the rise of urbanization.

SM revisited the functionality of ‘building on stilts’ and reinvented the concept as a climate resilient feature. This design was complemented with other disaster preparedness considerations to help reduce the risk of damages during extreme flooding. As such, SM City Marikina was built an additional 20 meters farther than the suggested 90-meter distance from the Marikina River centerline. Moreover, the ground floor parking was purposely laid out as an open-design, without walls to allow water to flow, while the second floor was elevated at 20.5 meters, which is higher than the maximum recorded flood levels.

During super typhoons, SM Marikina’s resiliency saves an average of Php1 billion in terms of losses from business sales alone. This means that it is able to help its tenants, especially the micro, small and medium enterprises that depend on the mall for their business continuity and growth. 

For its neighboring communities, SM Marikina also serves as a safe haven and a first responder to families who are affected during calamities. It also provides free parking spaces for those who are stranded and need a safe place to wait for flood water to recede. 

“Our ultimate goal is to help build the resilience of our stakeholders. This begins by building our own resilience to serve as a good foundation they could rely on especially during calamities,” Garcia-Hsu said.

Beyond the city of Marikina, building on stilts may be experiencing a revival in other parts of the world as urbanization begin to rise along with a greater demand for greener spaces. This would allow for high rise developments while keeping ground levels reserved for much needed green open spaces. 

While it took SM an additional 15% in its capital investments to make SM City Marikina a disaster resilient mall, the group sees it as an essential investment in its commitment to create shared value for its stakeholders. This, complemented with a science-based approach on climate scenario risk analysis, allows SM City Marikina to defy odds and prove that integrating resiliency is the way to a climate resilient future.