AT LEAST 20 typhoons visit the Philippines annually; that’s how grave the disaster risk our communities are facing.
Natural hazards such as typhoons are inevitable. But their disastrous effects could be prevented or mitigated if we are more prepared.
Yes, we must 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 10 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.
Also, let us make every citizen 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” I November 2013, 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. When it was clear how bad the typhoon would be, the local government decided to evacuate all 1,000 people. Because it did so much work on disaster risks information dissemination, everyone fully understood the need to move to safety.
