ILOILO City – One is never too young to appreciate the importance of disaster preparedness, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas.
With the youth as primary target, the OCD conducted a “disaster resilience caravan” on Oct. 26 at Central Philippine University. It gathered over 500 participants – elementary pupils and high school students from various schools, and Sangguniang Kabataan members.
Even at a young age, it is important to have an understanding of the basic concepts of disaster resilience, said Ma. Aletha Nogra, chief of OCD Region 6’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Division.
“We want the youth to be prepared all the time because the Philippines is constantly at risk,” said Nogra.
Member agencies of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council discussed various concepts during the caravan. Some of these were the following:
* Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration – weather monitoring and hydrometeorological hazards
* Bureau of Fire Protection – fire suppression
* Philippine Red Cross and Department of Health – response initiatives
“It is important that we teach the youth how to keep themselves safe, how to save lives and how to respond to disasters,” said Nogra./PN
