Are we ready for a disaster?

Early this week, Senator Loren Legarda hosted a cocktail reception for UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction Margareta Wahlström. Loren invited a select group of people composed of diplomats, Cabinet members, LGU executives and business leaders to meet the UN executive. 

Many of us have seen so many calamities and disasters that have struck many parts of the world including the Philippines. All of these are warning signs that should prompt us to give serious thought about the need for better preparation. There has been a lot of noise about mitigation and risk reduction but efforts have largely been focused on typhoons and flooding mainly because of the devastating effects of typhoons Ondoy and Sendong. But one thing that struck me most during my conversation with Ms. Wahlström, and she readily agreed, was that we are not ready for a major earthquake — something that the Philippines is absolutely vulnerable to being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire where frequent tectonic shifts will inevitably trigger a major earthquake.

Studies by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Pacific Strategic Agency revealed that Metro Manila would be thrown into chaos if a 7.2 magnitude earthquake originating from the West Valley Fault — that 20-25 kilometer line running through Quezon City, Marikina, Pasig, Taguig as well as Muntinlupa and other areas to the south — should occur. Metro Manila is not prepared to deal with a disaster of such magnitude, with predictions that 34,000 people could die and hundreds of thousands injured. Imagine a scene out of a disaster movie with police sirens blaring, fire trucks, ambulances, collapsed buildings, fires and casualties all over. The PSA experts even grimly said Metro Manila could resemble Port-au-Prince in Haiti in the aftermath of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010.

A potentially chaotic scenario that came to mind is Fort Bonifacio where you see high-rise buildings adjacent to mid-rises and all kinds of tall and short structures all confined to an area facing the Manila Golf course. The buildings are so close to each other, with clear disregard for proper zoning that could turn it into a major disaster waiting to happen. Accessibility is going to be limited, only through the golf course. Already the Philippines tops the list of countries most vulnerable to natural disasters, with a total of 33 natural calamities recorded in 2011. Just this February, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Negros Oriental, compounded by a landslide that resulted in the death of 40 people and the destruction of homes and other structures. In March, it was Surigao’s turn with a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that triggered a stampede among the thousands who were in a Gaisano mall on the same day it opened.

Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman who was also at the cocktail reception said that DSWD is in fact preparing in case of an eventual earthquake because their office is located in Batasan, an area along the active West Valley Fault line. Obviously, the DSWD is the frontline agency for relief efforts if and when a major earthquake occurs.

We have to hand it to Senator Loren Legarda who has consistently been at the forefront for policy development insuring that government agencies are proactive in disaster management and mitigation. Judging from recent survey results showing her at the top spot for re-electionist senators, it is clear people appreciate her as a serious and credible advocate for the environment and disaster risk reduction.

Because she no longer has any ambition for higher office, Loren tells me she is now totally focused on doing what she does best — crafting legislation to translate national plans and policies into action, and strengthen cooperation among various sectors for better resiliency programs in the country. Loren is the principal author of the Climate Change Act and co-author of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act — among the best in the world according to Wahlström. Loren, who chairs the Senate committee on climate change, will be coordinating with Phivolcs for the production of an earthquake preparedness manual with at least a million copies to be distributed nationwide. Hans Sy of the SM Group has offered to print the manual and distribute the copies in all the SM malls around the country.

One of the things which we suggested to Loren and discussed with Margareta is legislation similar to what’s being done in other countries where government-owned radio and television stations, publications and private telecommunications companies are required to devote a portion of their airtime (or space) to communicate disaster preparedness measures for earthquakes.

There is nothing like knowledge and information to help one prepare for disasters — and the best example that I always remember is that of a 10-year-old English girl named Tilly Smith, who was vacationing with her family in Phuket in December 2004. The family was walking on the beach when she noticed the water receding along the shoreline and the foamy bubbles on the surface. Remembering her science lesson just two weeks earlier, she told her mother in that familiar English accent, “There’s going to be a tsunami, Mummy!” That simple instance of knowledge applied reverberated all over the world because it saved her life and her family’s and the people around them that day.

Admittedly, nothing can really forewarn people about an impending disaster because it could happen any time, anywhere. But what sign do we need from God other than the disasters and calamities happening one after another all around us? Nothing can be more crystal clear: We need to be ready because disaster will strike — it’s only a question of when.

* * *

E-mail: [email protected]