Digos forms evac plan for tsunami

DIGOS CITY - The city government here has devised an action plan to solve the problem that emerged during the Oct. 16 earthquake that rocked parts of Mindanao and triggered an unexpected exodus due to a tsunami scare.

“We have been into several emergency training and drills, but we have overlooked what we have experienced during the recent earthquake where people panicked not just because of the huge magnitude but due to the tsunami scare,” Mayor Josef Cagas said during an emergency meeting on Saturday at the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) grounds.

The meeting, which was attended by members of the executive crisis committee (ECC) under the incident command system (ICS) of the CDRRMC, have identified at least four coastal villages of Digos City whose residents fled in masse as they sought refuge in higher grounds after receiving information from questionable sources that coastal waters had receded and a tsunami is coming.

Cagas admitted that a strong earthquake will really trigger panic and alarm to the community living in the lowlands.

“Whether there is truth or just fake news we could not prevent them from reacting since it’s a matter of life and death. And as public officials we have to defuse such fears and worries by providing the necessary assistance aside from trying our best to deliver immediate and reliable information whether

there is a tsunami warning alert from the authorities or none,” Cagas said.

“To responders and volunteers, we should not be the first to run or seek refuge but instead we have to guide the people where they should go in case of emergency situations like this or even in other forms of calamities that may arise so that we can save lives,” he added.

Gil Gubat, CDRRMC officer-in-charge action officer, and the ECC have established barangays to accommodate those who will seek refuge during tsunami alerts, especially those coming from the coastal villages of Digos City.

The city traffic management center (TMC), police, members of the civil security unit (CSU), Army, and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) will be in charge of the traffic management situation during a mass evacuation. There should be a passable road from the coastal road to the evacuation area and roadblocks must be removed so that there will be a smooth flow of traffic and prevent bottlenecks that could lead to accidents.

In terms of panic management, Cagas designated barangay officials, the local Department of Education and the religious sector to take charge.

It was suggested that every coastal village will utilize motor vehicles to be used for ‘recorida’ to allay fear and panic during an earthquake.