LESSON FROM ONDOY

The Philippine Star
09/28/09

Even as relief operations continue, the nation should now focus on how to prepare for future disasters, including typhoons, especially since we are a nation of thousands of islands visited by more than two dozen storms a year and regularly experiencing earthquakes as the world’s tectonic plates shift.

Many believe the occurrence of nine hours of a strong, steady downpour is a rarity and could possibly not happen again in our lifetime, but typhoon Ondoy’s deluge could also be a warning of more – or even worse – to come.

It can no longer be ignored that the world’s climate patterns are changing, and that there will could be more terrifying effects that global warming will unleash on us. So let’s put our minds to work and sort out what has happened to come up with a good solution.

What were the major challenges? In brief:

• Non-stop heavy rain for nine hours, a record amount since our weather bureau started measuring rainfall
• Traffic paralysis caused by stalled vehicles, which made rescue mobility and efforts doubly difficult
• Road access cut off to large sections of low-lying cities and municipalities
• Thousands of homes, together with household appliances and some with vehicles, going under water, others completely submerged

What are our lessons?

Carpe diem. Seize the day. Not by finger-pointing or starting a new congressional investigation, but by empowering our rescue, relief and rehabilitation machineries to draw up more adaptable and flexible protocols to deal with future disasters.

It need not be expensive. Let’s have an inventory of resources – rafts, lifeboats, helicopters, 4x4 trucks, firetrucks, ambulance, etc. – that can be easily shared with everyone when emergencies strike. This way, we know where we can turn to when in need.

Multi-tiered responses

Prepare for multi-level scenarios. We are a country often inundated by floods – small, big, gigantic – especially in low-lying areas, both within cities and affecting whole barangays. Having a set of tiered responses will guide people on how to respond.

Mandate, encourage, appeal to local government units to set up their own disaster preparedness plans, and to make sure all their constituents are aware and involved in table top as well as hands-on drills. And we’re talking not just about flooding, but also earthquakes, fire, terrorist attacks, transport accidents, etc.

Link all essential national and local government agencies and police units, utility firms, institutions like the Red Cross, volunteer organizations (even rowing clubs), churches and even the various media organizations that could have a bearing in any phase of disaster mitigation.

Publish these agreed responses in leaflets, brochures, and even on the web. This way, it is easy for people to re-publish them in the many new media that have (and could) come into play and could be used to echo such important information.

Incidentally, the website of the National Disaster Coordinating Council is in itself a disaster. It could very well be one of the most unfriendly and inadequate sites I have come across.

Media value

Use the media well. For the first five to six hours last Saturday, all that the nationwide radio and television stations as well as the few news websites that were operating could do was to report pleas for help (sent via SMS or phone calls). It would have been comforting if someone had issued advisories starting the first hour and every hour thereafter.

The lines to the NDCC could barely be reached. Obviously, there were too few considering the extent of the crisis. Not surprisingly, if its website is an indication, there were no email addresses given, more so links to the newer social channels like Facebook or even Twitter.
Ingrain in all a disaster preparedness mindset. We should have everyone, even children, prepared to handle all kinds of emergencies. If this were included in the learning curriculum, this might even be a hands-down favorite subject, next to recess, of course.

Hardware, heart

For the big stuff, we should seriously look into our weather warning system. Typhoon disasters have been going on for so long. If the CNN could warn of excessive rains, why couldn’t Pag-asa? It’s so pathetic that an official even expressed surprise about the amount of rain last Saturday.
Let’s get a really good program (including budget allocations) that will allow the country to upgrade forecasting equipment whenever possible, and to keep staff expertise updated through continuous training. After all, what good are state-of-the-art radars if people don’t know what to do with them?

There are a few more things to be grateful about in this last national tragedy. Electricity service was only selectively cut off, enabling those that were not affected to start mobilization work. Water services were available to areas where pumping stations had not gone underwater.

Most of the communication lines held. Mobile phones continued to convey calls of distress by those affected by the floods. Even the Internet was humming away for those who had electricity, and was a great help in piecing together updates in places that were imperiled by the strong rains.

The elevated trains continued operations, and on extended hours, even if some terminal entrances were partially underwater. This was extremely helpful in bringing commuters home, or near their homes, when the buses, jeepneys and tricycles were paralyzed.

Finally, let us not underestimate what each and everyone can do during a disaster. The Ateneo rowing team on Saturday night bought toy rafts, and on their sturdy competition boats, went to Provident Village in Marikina to rescue people.

There are many more brave stories of similar selfless initiatives that surfaced in the eye of last week’s national adversity. They continue to inspire us and bolster our belief in our resiliency as a people. Kudos to the Filipino.

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Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, SalcedoVillage, 1227 MakatiCity. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net