THE FOURTH quarter nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill was held two weeks ago, on Nov. 10, to check Filipinos’ readiness, in the event of an earthquake, especially the big one. How many local government units in Western Visayas actually participated in that quake drill?
We’re asking the question with a sense of urgency as we note Monday’s strong killer earthquake in our neighbour Indonesia that killed scores of people and injured hundreds. The 5.6 magnitude quake struck Cianjur town in West Java, according to US Geological Survey data.
Local government officials are in the best position to lead and engage those in their respective cities, municipalities, and provinces to establish and strengthen disaster preparedness measures. Local government units should always involve citizens in bolstering defenses against disasters.
In building resilient communities, our local government units’ role is important. They should plan well and invest public resources wisely with reducing disaster risk as a goal; promote a culture of safety and resilience engaging all stakeholders and sectors; raise awareness on disaster and climate risk at community and family level; and improve local early warning and community preparedness systems.
In strengthening defenses against natural hazards, proactive strategies and the involvement of citizens are needed, and local governments should take the lead. Most natural hazards turn into disasters because of the lack of preparedness. It is a must that citizens understand how they can contribute to making our communities disaster-resilient and urge them to actually take part in such activities.
Disaster prevention starts long before an earthquake happens, before a typhoon makes landfall, or before a volcano erupts. Early warning and early action should be at the very heart of our efforts. Everyone should understand the risks we face and equip ourselves with preventive measures to lessen the impact of natural hazards.
