Be prepared for anything

Mindanao has been hit by two disasters, with one compounding the other.

First to happen was the landslide in Barangay Masara in Maco, Davao de Oro, last Tuesday. Heavy rains were blamed for the landslide that buried a small community as well as two buses containing workers of a mine.

As of this writing an estimated 62 houses were destroyed by the landslide which has claimed 27 lives and injured 35 others. Another 89 are still declared missing. Although it may be unlikely, we are holding out hope that more survivors will be found as two kids managed to survive around 60 hours in the rubble.

The second disaster was back-to-back earthquakes that hit the Agusan provinces yesterday. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the first quake’s epicenter was five kilometers southwest of Las Nieves in Agusan del Norte at 11:22 a.m., while the second happened 10 kilometers southeast of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, at 1:21 p.m.

Damage was feared to have been caused by the quake, but no confirmations have been made as of this writing. However, the quakes did force the halt of ongoing rescue of the Davao landslide for the safety of the rescuers themselves. And each minute the rescue isn’t ongoing can mean life or death for anyone who might still be alive underneath all that earth.

The landslide was caused by rains enhanced by the Amihan as well as the presence of a low-pressure area. Quakes, whether volcanic or tectonic, will be experienced by the Philippines because of our location. What does this tell us? Whether from the sky, the mountains, the rivers, or from deep underground, we can always expect one disaster or another to hit us at any time.

Which makes it important for all of us, local government units, communities, families, and individual citizens alike, to be prepared for anything.

This may be easier said than done, considering how nature can be fickle or unpredictable when throwing the next challenge at us. But failure to be prepared for any disaster whether it is a flood, a storm, a landslide, an earthquake, a fire, or whatever will mean lives lost.