Unforeseen or not, natural disasters such as earthquakes are tragedies which we, unfortunately, can’t avoid. Especially with a country like Philippines which is smacked right in the center of disaster after disaster, events such as these serve as lessons and laboratory for formulating preparatory actions. To understand the natural and even political and social factors surrounding these disasters is to understand the valuable lessons in reducing the risk of life and property. Looking at the myriad of calamities besieging the country annually, what are the things we learned?
Disaster Awareness and Education Should Start Early
Take it from the Japanese and this country’s very own citizens of Marikina, information dissemination about disasters have been integrated in their school system. This smart move has been credited for saving the lives of thousands of students during the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Faculty, staff, and students were well-equipped and informed on what to do in times of disaster and were able to evacuate in time.
The city of Marikina have certainly learned their lesson after the tragedy of Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009. Disaster preparation for typhoon, flood, and earthquake are now integrated regularly starting with primary school students. They believe that awareness should start with the younger members of the community. From their experience, younger minds accept information openly and adult members are often the ones adamant about evacuating their homes. Resiliency in these communities have become a partnership of the authorities and ordinary citizens.
Preparation Measures Should Be Made in All Levels
Institutions such as schools, private companies, and government organizations should have disaster preparation included in their protocols. Preparation measures should touch on national, local, and even household levels. Emergency drills like the annual shake drill should be done regularly and taken seriously. Logistics of contingency plans should be discussed thoroughly even in ordinary settings.The significance of small things like a Go-Bag shouldn’t be overlooked. These preparations have proved to be valuable during a disaster when swift evacuation stands between life and death.
Warning Systems Should Be Available and Comprehensible to All
Government units responsible for issuing warning signals and information in times of disasters such as the rainfall warning, typhoon signals, earthquake magnitude, or earthquake aftershock warnings should make it comprehensible for all citizens. Technicalities should be left for experts and information should be accessible in all forms of media. The value of accessible and understandable data is significant in real-time actions and the survival rate of citizens.
Disaster Protocols Should Be Institutionalized
Institutionalizing disaster protocols specifically calls for an indepenent national disaster agency. The proper coordination of different organizations involved in disaster response should be headed by said agency. Pre-disaster and post-disaster preparations can then be done regularly and properly and in a time demanded by a calamity. Things such as hazard mapping and assessment are no longer done after a devastating tragedy but as part of regular and serious planning. An independent agency allows such preventive measures be done in a timely manner, saving more lives and lessening damages, without going through several loopholes.
Evacuation Measures and Disaster Response Should Be Done Pre-Disaster Period
The preparation of basic necessities and relief goods such as food, water, shelter, sanitation, and even security and privacy of evacuees should be done preemptively. It would be difficult, time-consuming, and, for some, life threatening if these are delayed. Telecommunication, transportation, security, electricity, and healthcare should not be overlooked and should be established beforehand. The absence of these could bring another form of disaster such as looting or disease outbreak.
Government Should Prepare Responding to Multiple Disasters
As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, the Philippines is outrageously visited by several types of disaster in a span of one year. Multiple disasters can hit one province within a month as painfully exhibited by Batanes. Within two weeks, it has been hit by one of the worst earthquakes followed by an unforgiving tropical storm. Recovery stage hasn’t even begun and here comes another disaster. For the government, this means a response service that is being pulled in several directions. The government should now prepare a system capable of responding from one disaster to another. This meant continual restocking of relief goods, revisiting healthcare response, and strengthening of disaster resilience among others.
Disaster Preparation Should Include Long Term Resilience
Preparing and planning for disasters should also include long term measures. This is the precise point of resilience- responding appropriately to disaster, preparing for future disasters, and continuing community life. Continuity meant minimizing economic and asset loss. Past disasters have shown that disasters are cruel enough to destroy life, shelter, and livelihood. They’ve made millions of citizens impoverished overnight. One of the best actions on strengthening long term resilience is to build resilient infrastructures holding the residence and livelihood of citizens. Aging buildings in this country usually follow the old structure codes which are mostly not built to withstand natural disasters. It is now the duty of the government and structure owners to strengthen their integrity or build newer and stronger structures.
The best way to determine the integrity of a structure is in its monitoring through Earthquake Recoording Instruments (ERI). As mentioned in The National Building Code of the Philippines set by the DPWH, ERIs are vital in monitoring the ground movement as well as the integrity of structures. A system that has now gone beyond the requirements of an ERI is USHER or Unversal Structural Health Evaluation and Recording System.
The primary function of USHER is to constantly monitor a structure’s integrity with its 24/7 portal. Added features that answer to the lessons of disaster preparedness is the alert system, the regular monitoring, and the insights to disaster effects provided by real-time data. USHER aims to contribute to the long term resilience of structures and its communities.
Because of its beautiful yet unfortunate geography, the Philippines is a country frequently revisited by natural disasters. The best thing about this country is the resilience of its citizens. After facing countless catastrophes, the country has now earned multiple lessons in disaster preparation and response. The only appropriate action is to learn and apply these lessons before another big calamity strikes.