DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction defines disaster as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: Human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts. With the onset of the rainy season, we have frequent storms and typhoons. It begs the question: Are we ready for floods and strong winds that cause tremendous damage? The location of our country just above the equator and facing the western Pacific and near the tectonic plates makes us prone to earthquakes, typhoons, floods and volcanic eruptions.
But disasters do not select which areas to devastate. They hit anywhere. In 2010, 14,000 lives were lost in a Haiti earthquake. Myanmar was devastated by a cyclone in 2008, resulting in the death of 120,000. The extreme drought in Somalia left 230,000 dead. The hurricane “Katrina” struck New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2005 flooding 90 percent of the city, destroying 850,000 homes and damaging 2,400 ships and vessels.
In 2013, typhoon “Yolanda” shocked the world, being the most powerful typhoon ever recorded that hit land. The destruction of communities in Tacloban and other parts of Eastern Visayas and Northern Luzon brought catastrophic losses amounting to almost $13 billion.
Just a few days ago, a powerful earthquake that jolted the northern part of Luzon brought fear and destruction once again.
Because of our experience in disasters, we must always be ready with plans, programs and projects to be implemented, so that we can recover fast from the onslaught and destruction they bring.
The World Bank, in cooperation
WE LEARN CAN
FROM OTHER COUNTRIES’ EXPERIENCES AND ADOPT
THEBEST PRACTICES
THAT THEY HAVE
ALREADY DEVELOPED.
with disaster-prone countries, has been assisting in the implementation of disasterfocused programs involving communities, national and local governments, including the private sector. Other international bodies that also help include USAID (United States Agency for International Development) through its Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, which realigns its core mission with assistance to children who are victims of natural disasters.
Locally, groups in the private and religious sectors also help, such as radio and television network-run foundations, Caritas Manila and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, composed of a group of private corporations that not only assist in increasing public awareness of disaster prevention and management, but help in the rehabilitation of the victims of disasters.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, chaired by the Secretary of National Defense, is in the forefront of disaster prevention and recovery efforts. It is composed of other agencies such as the Departments of Interior and Local Governments, and Environment and Natural Resources, the military and police. The council gathers together all those involved in disaster management and relief, and coordinates their activities for maximum effect on target beneficiaries.
While effective long-term planning and collaboration between government and the private sector are essential, there is no single model for disaster prevention, management and recovery that may be fully emulated, as not all countries are similarly situated. But we can learn from other countries’ experiences and adopt the best practices that they have already developed.
We can also heed recommendations coming from the specialized organs of the UN and those of the World Bank, such as the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. The latter’s mission is to see to it that affected communities become more resilient to natural hazards, climate risks and other environmental shocks, and so that the human and economic costs of disasters are reduced.
A s i d e f r o m coordination among agencies involved in disaster prevention, there is a need to revisit Republic Act 10121, otherwise known as the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction AND Management Act, to determine if there is a need to amend it for an improved response to disasters that is the responsibility, not just of government, but ours as well.
BECAUSE OF OUR EXPERIENCE IN DISASTERS, WEMUST ALWAYS BEREADY WITHPLANS,
PROGRAMS PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED.