Addressing disasters

EDITORIAL

Executive Order 137 of 1999 declared the Month of July as National Disaster Consciousness Month and this had been observed nationwide every year. But despite this, time and again, nature has proven that when it wants to inflict damage, it can.

Somehow, over the years, local governments have learned to address disasters and calamities and mitigate destruction and loss of lives and properties. Towns or cities have their tales to tell as regards disasters and how they learned from these and managed to rise from the ruins.  

           

In Baguio where the July 22 killer quake was most felt in the country and where hundreds of lives were lost, volunteers and stakeholders gathered in the heart of the city as part of the nationwide commemoration, even as they reminisced the tragedy 22 years ago.

The city has since risen from the tragedy and is now one of the booming cities of the country. Mayor Mauricio Domogan, who also sits as chair of the city disaster risk reduction and management council said, “preparation(after the killer quake) was a major factor during calamities which saved hundreds of lives.”

The program was spiced with tales of heroism’ from different people who helped during the city’s dark days, the likes of Elpidio Celzo of Benguet Corporation, engineer Alfredo Reynosa of Philex Mining Corporation and Lt. Col. Jose DemarPauly of the Philippine Military Academy.

The Philippine Air Force and other rescue groups demonstrated their skills on ground search and rescue and emergency drills to show their preparedness during disasters and calamities and to highlight their strength and capabilities.

As officials noted, raising people’s awareness on how to deal with natural calamities and emergencies lessens risks.

Parts of the city are still highly vulnerable to landslides and other calamities, reason why the CDRRMCconducts series of lectures and seminars on 128 barangays on disaster preparedness and mitigation every now and then.

Calamity-prone-barangays are also being closely monitored. Somehow, over the years, loss of lives and properties in the city lessened during calamities or disasters, officials noted. Other areas of the country could take a lesson from the Baguio experience.

Meantime, it is a good development that the Department of Science and Technology and PAGASA recently launched the nationwide operational assessment of hazards or “Project NOAH” to help local government units view weather situations anywhere in the country to allow them to address disasters.

Project NOAH (noah.dost.gov.org) allows viewers access to live satellite images of the country’s weather situation through the different Doppler stations.