“Preparedness does not only mean having the equipment, materials, facilities – it pertains to the people.”
By DEE AYROSO
Bulatlat.com
Drop. Cover. Hold on.
These are the words to remember – and to do – which might just save your life, when an earthquake strikes.
Government and NGOs are now drilling this kind of information into public awareness, as everyone braces for “The Big One” – the magnitude 7 to 9 earthquake, which a 2002 study says will hit Metro Manila, as the Valley Fault System is ripe for another movement.
The NGO, Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (CDRC), however, says that government preparedness is still evidently lacking.
“Preparedness does not only mean having the equipment, materials, facilities – it pertains to the people,” said Carlos Padolina, CDRC deputy executive director.
It means equipping people with knowledge on what to do, not just during a disaster, but even before, through the identification of risks and hazards and how to prevent these, he said.
In an interview with Bulatlat.com, CDRC officers said the five-year-old Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, mandates local government units to prepare the people, but sadly, the law is hardly implemented.
First of two parts: Having equipment, vehicles helps but not the key
“Where is the role of the people in the picture?” Read more
Second of two parts: Prepping the people
“What if the school building is already old, will the drop-cover-hold on still apply?”
Read more
