Telco guns for disaster preparedness

SMART Communications Inc. is once again gearing up for typhoons and other natural calamities.

In observance of July as National Disaster Consciousness Month, the telco launched an internal campaign aimed at instilling the mindset of preparedness among its employees.

The Employee Preparedness Week dubbed “Act Now” included crash courses on emergency management and preparedness, first aid, basic defense and survival skills; a talk on assessing personal vulnerabilities, threats and risks; a three-day exhibit and a bazaar showcasing emergency and survival kits.

Part of the proceeds from the bazaar will go to the PLDT-Smart Foundation’s disaster preparedness efforts, including Project Noah, which is designed to improve flood monitoring in the country.

The project is in partnership with various government agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or Pagasa.

The importance of this inclusive campaign for safety and preparedness couldn’t be more emphasized especially with the Philippines topping the list of Asian countries hit by disasters in Asia in 2011, according to the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.

The number of disasters that hit the country last year totaled 33, way higher than China’s 21, India’s 11, Indonesia’s 11, and Japan’s seven.

The country also had the highest number of people affected by calamities such as floods, storms and earthquakes in 2011. The World Health Organization said there were 1,147,270 Filipinos adversely affected, surpassing Japan’s 368,820 during the tsunami disaster.