“A winning effort begins with preparation.” –Joe Gibbs
In the past few months, reports on the possible movement of the well-known West Valley Fault resonated in the archipelago. Discussions on our preparedness as a nation resound everywhere.
TheMarikina Valley Fault System, also known as theValley Fault System(VFS), is a dominantlydextralstrike-slipfaultsystem inLuzon. It extends from Dingalan,Aurorain the north and runs through thecitiesofQuezon,Marikina,Pasig,Makati,Parañaque,Taguig, and theprovincesofLagunaandCavite. In 1,400 years, the West Valley Fault only moved four times. The last major earthquake from the Valley Fault happened in 1658. On an average, the fault system moves around every 400 years and is predicted to happen anytime.A large earthquake from the West Valley Fault can significantly affect Metro Manila and vicinity. A magnitude 7.2 West Valley Fault earthquake may cause an estimated 12.7 percent heavy and 25.6 percent partly damage in residential building while heavy damage is estimated around 8-10 percent and partly damage is 20-25 percent for public buildings. Given Manila’s population of 9,932,560, Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) estimated 33,500 or 0.3 percent fatalities in a magnitude-7.2 West Valley Fault earthquake. A total of 113,600 or 1.1 percent of the population may also be injured. Since the magnitude 7.2 may also cause fire, PHIVOLCS also estimated additional deaths by fire of 18,000 people.The government efforts were brought from higher authorities to the public, tapping all its agencies.
DepEd, as one of the government’s functional agencies, released an order on June 29, 2015 geared towards promoting family earthquake preparedness. DepEd Order No. 27, s. 2015 instructs all schools, public and private, to take part in an overall preparedness plan by requiring all learners to accomplish the family earthquake preparedness homework with their families.
Disaster preparedness shunned away from establishment-based preparation to community-based vulnerability reduction with local empowerment (Allen, 2006) as a key feature. As a process, community-based disaster preparation and management include participatory hazard assessment (Van Aalst, Cannon, & Burton, 2008), support creation and mobilization.
Indeed, Deped Order No. 27, s. 2015 prepared Filipinos by adapting a community-based disaster preparation and management thru effective adaptation strategies known to each member of the family.
“The percentage of preparation is equal to the percentage of survival, an expert said.” He added that preparedness should not start when one becomes aware of the probable disaster; readiness should be a long-term and everyday effort.
Resources:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2781826
Allen, K. M. (2006). Community‐based disaster preparedness and climate adaptation: local capacity‐building in the Philippines. Disasters, 30(1), 81-101.
Van Aalst, M. K., Cannon, T., & Burton, I. (2008). Community level adaptation to climate change: the potential role of participatory community risk assessment. Global environmental change, 18(1), 165-179.
By: Elmer P. Santos | Teacher I | Morong National High School | Morong, Bataan
