Twenty-five typhoons have already visited
the country this year, with the strongest, typhoon Yolanda, revealing the
gravity of disaster risk that Philippine communities are facing.
Senator Loren Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committees on Climate
Change and Environment and Natural Resources, said that Yolanda is the new
benchmark for disaster prevention and preparedness, stressing that “like all
natural hazards, Yolanda was inevitable but its disastrous effects could have
been prevented or mitigated if we were more prepared.”
As UN Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change
Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, Legarda shares wise pointers on making communities
resilient, drawn in five steps to save lives and prevent massive destruction of
property.
1. Manage risks
rather than manage disasters
In the lingo of disaster reduction experts, this is simply
called “risk governance.” Local government units (LGUs) must determine if
certain risks are prevalent in a community making it vulnerable to the effects
of a landslide, flooding, tsunami, storm surge or earthquake.
Local disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change
adaptation (CCA) plans must be crafted to address these threats and funds
should be sufficiently allocated to effectively carry out these plans.
The World Bank estimates that for every dollar invested in
disaster reduction measures saves seven to ten dollars in losses from natural
disasters.
A good example is Barangay Cunsad in the Municipality of
Alimodian, Province of Iloilo. In July 2012, when the heavy rains of Typhoon
Gener triggered major landslides in Cunsad, they recorded zero casualty. This
is because, when the natural signs of impending landslide showed up in the
populated barangay of Cunsad, the municipal government immediately sought the
help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for risk assessment
and heeded the advice of geologists to relocate the residents.
2. Make every
Filipino 'disaster-literate'
Sound policies and political will to implement do not complete
the formula for effective disaster prevention because there needs to be
cooperation from the public. Early and mandatory evacuation would be useless if
the people do not understand the need for such efforts.
Raising public awareness should be made to resonate loudly and
as far deep into the communities as possible. If some of our people do not yet
see how the issues could affect them, still it is our responsibility to draw
them in. The government can conduct training for building the resilience of
families covered by the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, together with the
DSWD and the League of Barangays.
During the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda, all 500 houses in the
island of Tulang Diyot (Municipality of San Francisco, Cebu Province) were
destroyed but the entire population was saved because of prompt evacuation led
by former Mayor of San Francisco, Cebu Province, Alfredo Arquillano, a UNISDR
Champion. Arquillano said that “when it was clear how bad the typhoon would be,
we decided to evacuate all 1,000 people. Because we’ve done so much work on
disaster risk everyone fully understood the need to move to safety.”
3. Let the science
work for you
Adequately preparing for a disaster means knowing it fully well
and the dangers it brings. Having experts gather and validate scientific data
allows the accurate prediction of events, which could then be matched with the
best practical solutions. When and where a typhoon will strike, and how, are
critical knowledge that will allow the community to timely seek safer ground
and fully protect their homes and properties.
With high reliability of disaster data, it is expected that the
private sector will be more confident to enter into risk financing schemes
without fear of massive losses.
4. Protect the
environment
Building on good risk reduction practices means going back to the very basics: protecting our
ecosystems and natural buffers such as mangrove forests to mitigate floods,
storm surges and other hazards.
Our environment and its ecosystem support human life and provide
the basic materials for our economy, such as food, fuel and clean water. The
ecosystem also sequesters carbon emissions, regulates erosion and landslides,
and reduces floods.
In Montalban, Rizal, a group of women farmers started to
practice agroforestry to adapt to the prolonged wet season; while in Hinatuan,
Surigao del Sur, a group of women fisherfolk reforested over a hundred hectares
of mangrove areas to protect their settlements from storm surges and secure
additional source of food for their families.
5. Preparation
is half the battle won
While disaster prevention should be the greater focus of our
efforts, response preparedness is likewise important to prevent further
casualties.
Contingency plans are crucial in times of disasters. Communities
must draw and test regularly their response plan way ahead of any disaster
event and improve constantly on early warning systems and emergency
management capacities.
LGUs must have the political will to implement forced evacuation
when called for. Shelters for evacuees should be well designed, built
strong, and prepared ahead of time with emergency supplies of food, water,
medicine, shelter, and toiletries, while government agencies are ready to
augment the basic needs of evacuees.
Local disaster and risk reduction management officers should be
alert. Quick communication, particularly real-time updates, is also vital in
ensuring effective disaster response with first responders and search and
rescue teams ready for dispatch anytime.
A good example is the Purok System in the Municipality of San
Francisco, Camotes Island, Cebu Province, which won the 2011 UN Sasakawa Award
for Disaster Reduction. The Purok System allows the immediate self-organization
within villages and focuses on addressing the vulnerability of every barangay
in the municipality by mobilizing local resources in creating local and
practical solutions based on the unique needs of every community.
For Legarda, these five steps are achievable with smooth
coordination among agencies of government, all sectors of society, and the
citizens.
“The key is to work together, as one community, as one nation.
We must rebuild communities aware of the lessons of Yolanda, Sendong,
Pablo, the Bohol quake and all other major disasters that have brought us to
our feet. We must not rebuild the risks. We must rebuild stronger, wiser and
smarter,” said Legarda.
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