Are you ready should an environmental hazard take place near you?
There was a time when we thought of environmental challenges as too infrequent and far-off to affect us. These were simply isolated quirks of life not worth preparing for at all. Sometimes, an earthquake or fire drill was even treated as a comical relief from the humdrum routine of our mundane existence.
Sadly, history tells us, the utter lack of serious attention to calamity simulations could potentially result in numerous injuries and fatalities, widespread property damage and horrifying environmental disasters.
Recent hazardous events close to or right at home have thus started to turn our apathy to deep concern.
Super typhoons Yolanda and Odette have left countless people with terrible life stories. The strong earthquakes that affected Cebu in 2013 and 2025 have also taught us valuable lessons on safety while droughts, landslides and flash floods further highlighted the importance of resiliency.
Disaster preparedness has become the new norm. Dictated by necessity, people need to step up and get ready for environmental hazards as if they’re going to happen right before us anytime soon. Adverse weather systems, for one, are obviously here to stay.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. himself stressed that tropical cyclones are already inevitable. “This is not extraordinary anymore. Do not think of it as a special situation, this is… I hate to use the overused phrase, but this is the new normal. Ganito na talaga ang buhay natin kahit ano pa ang gawin natin,” he said in a government meeting last July.
Filipinos have since scrambled up to prepare for more hazards ahead. Offices on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management as well as related agencies and organizations have responded to the call by reaching out to their publics.
An important aspect of disaster preparedness is planning which starts with one’s family. For instance, children should be taught to stay away from flash floods instead of splashing in it to avoid leptospirosis or electrocution from fallen posts. The elderly, persons with disability and pets must be given special consideration in the plans.
Another vital factor is knowing the kind of disaster that could affect an area, such as if one’s house is built on top of or at the foot of a mountain or along the coastline. One must then know what appropriate precautionary measures to take depending on his or her locational conditions.
Finally, there’s evacuation preparation. Family members should know the safest route for seeking refuge and for regrouping. Evacuation essentials include non-perishable food, drinking water, cash, medicines and face masks, fully-charged phones with chargers, transistor radios, flashlights, batteries and some clothes with sanitation supplies. Swiss knives and whistles may also come in handy.
Unfortunately, covered areas like basketball courts may not always be safe. As shown by the casualty count in Tacloban City during Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and at the San Remigio Sports Complex tremor in Northern Cebu a little over three weeks ago, such facilities can be quite dangerous. Evacuation areas must first be identified and cleared by authorities.
As recent events have shown, government and the private sector have not been wanting in extending help to victims of calamities. But rather than focusing on disaster response, let’s all hope and work for mitigation at the very least and prevention at best.