ILOILO City – Residents here are encouraged to have survival kits (K-KIT) of tools and supplies enough to meet their needs for 72 hours during disasters or emergencies.
City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) head Donna Magno said emergencies such as earthquakes, storms, flooding, storm surge, water scarcity, fire, and soil liquefaction can happen, some without warning.
“So there must be a sense of urgency in us. We always emphasize that because we can never tell when it (will) happen,” she said.
In partnership with a private manning firm, the CDRRMO has been going around the city conducting community-based training on family disaster preparedness planning.
Over 5,000 people already attended the training.
The survival kit contains the family’s food supply, first-aid and hygiene kits, medicines, water, clothes, beddings, and other items they will need to survive for the next 72 hours as three days are said to be the crucial time for disaster response.
The kit has to be checked and replenished every three months and stored in an area that can be easily accessed.
Aside from the survival kit, a family disaster preparedness plan should also include identifying the hazards in the community and their potential effects, meeting places and evacuation centers in the barangay, assigning roles to family members in the preparation and response, and important contacts of family members and their usual locations. (PNA)/PN
