Marikeños’ responsible behavior during ‘Lando’ onslaught lauded

THE MARIKINA government yesterday thanked residents who complied with its preemptive evacuation order on Sunday, saying this type of responsible behavior was what the city needed especially during disasters.

In an interview with the INQUIRER, Val Barcinal, Marikina’s disaster risk reduction and management chief, said that the order was issued after the water level of the Marikina River breached the 16-meter mark late Sunday afternoon.

The evacuees came from low-lying barangays such as Nangka, Tumana and Malanday. Barcinal said that a total of 379 families or 1,658 individuals left their houses and spent the night at Malanday Elementary School, Nangka Elementary School, H. Bautista Elementary School and Bulelak Gym.

According to him, residents chose to move to evacuation centers despite the absence of heavy rains because they did not want to be caught off guard should the floods come at night.

This was also the reason given by Myrna de Guzman when the INQUIRER asked her earlier why she and her nine relatives left their house in Barangay Tumana.

Another resident, 69-year-old Maria Darantingo, said that she and six of her family members went to H. Bautista Elementary School as soon as the preemptive evacuation order was issued since she did not want to risk coming down with leptospirosis due to a foot injury.

Barcinal said that the proactive attitude exhibited by residents was a welcome development as the city was one of the most affected areas when Tropical Storm “Ondoy” wreaked havoc in Metro Manila in 2009.

He noted that while there were still some residents who remained hardheaded, many heeded preemptive evacuation orders, saving not only their lives but those of rescuers as well.

Barcinal said that as of 9 a.m. yesterday, all of the evacuees had returned to their houses.

Meanwhile, the city’s use of the FireChat app was put to test at the height of Typhoon “Lando.” Barcinal said that while updates were posted and queries entertained on the mobile application, there was still a need to intensify an information campaign to ensure its optimal use.

Through the FireChat app, the public can communicate in real-time even when cellular networks are down by turning on the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth applications in their phones.