TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, (PIA) -- At least 26 state-of-the-art evacuation centers will be constructed in the Cagayan Valley region from 2018 to 2022, an official of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) here said.

Dante Balao, OCD regional director and chair of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) in Region 2, said the construction of the evacuation centers, through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), is in line with the RDRRMC’s thrusts to build temporary shelters nearer to the evacuees.

“Evacuees were at times seek temporary shelters in schools during disasters, but with these state-of-the-art evacuation centers, the situation will be reversed. Each evacuation center will be designed to serve as classrooms so that classes will not be interrupted during mass evacuations,” Balao said.

He said of the 26 evacuation centers, three are now under construction located in this city, and in the towns of San Pablo, Isabela and Lallo, Cagayan.

This year, Balao said they will also start the construction of evacuation centers in Tuao and Gonzaga in Cagayan; Tumauini, Isabela; and Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

He added that another six are on the pipeline to be constructed in 2019 while the remaining 13 are scheduled to be constructed in 2020-2022.