Saturday, July 01, 2006
Public gets 7 out of 10 in disaster preparedness
THE region's residents are generally prepared against disasters with the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) giving the public a rating of seven in a scale of one to 10 in terms of disaster awareness.
But OCD regional director Carmelito A. Lupo is aware there needs to be greater disaster preparedness to be worked on.
Lupo based his personal rating on the assessment they have gathered so far in their information drives as part of their Community-Based Disaster Management Program.
"There is a need to really educate the people, especially in far-flung areas," Lupo said in an interview at a press conference Friday.
Lupo, who also chairs the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council, said they are about to finish the information drive in all barangays in the region.
He said they give trainings to barangay captains and the barangay leaders in turn educate their constituents.
"Kasi barangays are first-line defense for any kind of disaster," he said.
Lupo advice the public to formulate a contingency plan so when disaster hits their place, they know what to do while waiting for rescue.
"You should know your enemy and then come-up with a plan," he said.
Department of Interior and Local Government regional director Rodolfo Z. Rasul said the ultimate test to disaster preparedness is when disaster has already struck.
"If only one dies in a disaster, that means they are prepared, if half of the people die in a disaster, that shows they are not prepared," Rasul said during the same press conference.
Based on the OCD disaster incident report, in 2005, there were a total of 10 major disasters and 19 minor disasters. Of the major disasters, seven are flood incidents, one dengue outbreak, one sea swelling incident and one landslide incident.
From January to June 2006, there were seven major disasters and 15 minor disasters. Of the major incidents, six were flood incidents and one landslide incident. (BRQ)
(July 1, 2006 issue)
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