Disaster preparedness caravan held

AS a follow-through the Noah’s Ark Project in barangay Candu-ay, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the last leg of Pamilyang Ready, Pamilyang Panalo Disaster Preparedness Caravan was conducted last Sept. 28 in Dumaguete City to promote disaster preparedness among the residents.

Held at the Dumaguete City High School Multipurpose gymnasium, the caravan was attended by around 700 individuals from the city’s flood-prone barangays, namely, Candau-ay, Cadawinonan, Batinguel, Taclobo, Bagacay, Junob, Calindagan, Barangay 8, Poblacion 2, Tabuc-tubig, Buñao and Camanjac.

The caravan brought new insights to families and the other residents, especially when dealing with emergency situations.

According to Jose Chu Jr., DRRM office head, the local government of Dumaguete has institutionalized its efforts to respond to disasters. There are now 40 volunteers under Rescue 348 who work with the Coast Guard, the Red Cross, the Fire Department and the Philippine National Police.

“The team undergoes at least three trainings every year. When there are impending emergency situations caused by natural or human-caused disasters, we do a consolidated system of response and rescue. We also conduct periodic radio checks through the telecommunications facilities of the police headquarters. We closely monitor critical areas like the 20 to 22 barangays located near the Banica and Ocoy rivers,” Chu said.

Barangay Candau-ay, one of the hardest-hit by typhoon Sendong in December 2011, was the pilot recipient of the disaster preparedness training of the Noah’s Ark Project funded by Smart Communications Inc. and implemented by the Corporate Network for Disaster Response (CNDR) from November 2012 to June this year.

The barangay now has a mechanism in place during, before and after the disaster, enabling them to prepare for and manage the impact of disasters.

In coordination with the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Noah’s Ark Project turned over recently its output, a manual on disaster risk management to Candau-ay, with the objective of replicating this in other barangays in the city.

Today, almost two years after Sendong, families in Dumaguete City’s flood-prone barangays have become more proactive and have realized that being prepared at all times is the best they can do in the event of a disaster.

Candau-ay barangay captain Gregorio Oira said families living close to rivers are already prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

The caravan was conducted by Smart, through Talk ‘N Text, together with the Corporate Network for Disaster Response and its partners Unilab/Ritemed, Pru Life, Emergency Research Center, Eveready and Rescue 5.