Yolanda survivors undergo disaster preparedness training in Leyte

TACLOBAN CITY — When super typhoon Yolanda struck Leyte in 2013, Ristel Jane Artiaga and Mave Rick Eraya ran for their lives as storm surge caused cargo vessels to crash into their houses at Barangay Anibong in Tacloban City.

Anibong was the ground zero of the super typhoon that took nearly 7,000 lives and left thousands more homeless.

Almost four years have passed since that day, college student Artiaga, 19, and faculty member Eraya, 30, will never forget the lessons they learned after surviving Yolanda.

These lessons, for them, have been reinforced during the TNT Tropang Ready Disaster Preparedness Caravan-staged by Smart Communications Inc.-held this month at their school, the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU).

Nearly 1,000 EVSU students and school personnel were taught lessons on emergency preparedness by representatives from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the Tacloban City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, the Emergency Management Center (EMC), and the Get Ready Pinas.

Louie Domingo of the EMC, for one, taught the students on how to make a paracord bracelet, which doubles as a rope in times of emergencies.

"I may be a member of the school's disaster risk management program, but Tropang Ready still reinforced my commitment to be always ready in times of calamity," said Eraya, adding that in times of emergencies, "keep it light, bring only what you can carry."

The speakers not only talked about the usual risks and hazards but also demonstrated the proper way to do the "duck, cover, hold" technique, and shared the contents of a "Go Bag," a kit meant to help an individual or a family survive the next 72 hours of a calamity–a typhoon, an earthquake, a tsunami, or landslide–a flashlight, bottle of water, mobile phone, garbage bag, T-shirt, flashlight battery, and other essentials.

The attendees were also treated to interactive booths, games, and other activities that put emphasis on preparedness.

Just last July 6, Leyte was rocked by a magnitude-6.5 earthquake, causing loss of lives and damage to property. Seventh-grader Ronald Corpin, 11, was one of the students inside the EVSU campus when the quake jolted the region.

Corpin, who was also in Tacloban when Yolanda hit the city, said both calamities made him realize, even at a young age, that disasters affected everyone. Rich or poor, children or adults, everyone should be prepared, he said.

Lawyer Maria Jane Paredes of Smart said: "Our brand TNT and the youth could work hand in hand in promoting the culture of preparedness as a way of life. The youth have the capability to share information right away to their families and friends."

EVSU vice president for administration Lilian Estorninos thanked Smart for bringing the TNT caravan to their university. "We share the same vision with Smart of having resilient schools and communities. In EVSU-Tacloban and our other campuses, we also give practical tips to students on emergency risk management," she added.