Papa Speaks: Disaster Preparedness Part2

Yolanda also thought us how we should handle situations if Mother Nature sends out one of her kakambal (Huwag naman sana , Lord.)

The first thing to prepare is YOU.

Here’s a link of a FREE copy of the “The LDS Preparedness Manual”. Here you can find articles related to preparedness subjects on food storage, communications, emergency evacuation etc.

What should be done in the future? Modernize Disaster Preparation.  MODERNIZE OUR POLITICIANS :) Political bickering should be stopped.  Kidding aside...

1.   Early Warning System - PAGASA can seek out help of other countries in providing minute-by-minute or hour-by-hour feed of weather sytems. I know they are competitive enough but in reality modern weather equipment is a must. LGUs can also invest on early warning systems such as public address systems and other field equipment that can help them see what's happening in their area of responsibility.

2.   Invest in Evacuation Centers – Can this system be suitable in Philippine conditions?

This is the Statim Shelter System. Here’s the product brochure if you want to see what it can do. We have construction companies around that I think can create a similar concept. All praises to the one who will step up. (Consunji, MDC, Megaworld, Anyone?)

3.   Modernize our Lift assets - 3 PAF C-130s isn't enough. You have seen how many cargo planes from the different countries came to the rescue. From C-130s to C-17 to KDC-10, all providing vital roles in transportation of relief goods, equipment and personnel and also evacuees. The rotary wings were also needed when there is no runway. They can hover for hours and can reach far areas that fixed-wings can't. So What? So This... Our government should invest in these assets. Heavy lift planes include C-130 and C-17s, but with budget contraint they can opt to choose C-130-like cargo planes. There are Medium Lift Air Assets currently in the pipeline for procurement. Medium lift airplanes are like those turbo-prop Cebu Pacific planes, military-grade aircrafts as C-295 from EADS can do. It can land on short runways which I guess most of PHI's runways are. Then there Light Lift Air assests. These kinds of planes are for rugged and short runways.

Top Left to clockwise – Netherland’s KDC-10, Canada’s C-17, PAF C-130, Canada’s CC-150

Rotary wing assets are vital too; Huey helicopters are our AFP work horses. We need more of such kind that can lift people, carry supplies and can do search and rescue. If we invest now, these can be used for 2-3 decades with proper maintenance.

Top Left to clockwise – PAF UH-1, PAF Sokol, USN SH-60 Seahawk, USMC V-22 Osprey

The Navy is also set to acquire two Strategic Support Vessels that look like this, similar to what Indonesia has:

These vessels have hospitals inside, can carry tons of relief goods, can transport more, and choppers can land on it.

To cut the long story short, the government needs to at least have the quarter of our National Budget to fully modernize our Armed forces (If you compare it to Indonesia). AFP Modernization law states that Php75B (Indonesia has Php680B) will be used for modernization for a modest AFP, but the spoiler is it will be spread for 5 years. Php15B a year, IMHO, is indeed modest. Tamang budget lang ba. Pero sa mahal ng mga assets na iyan, ung Php15B/year ubos agad sa isang project palang.

4.   NDRRMC and AFP should be "separated" - AFP is trained for primarily for war. I think it would be just right that NDRRMC should be a rescue-centric entity. All personnel should be rescue/risk management-champions. If there's an impending/ongoing disaster, they will be the Command Center. AFAIK, Sec Gazmin handles both. So parang walang focus. The agency can be under the Office of the President. Or parang PNP, AFP, tapos Civil Defence Forces (CDF). It is just an idea of mine na merong rescue-centric academe na parang PNPA, PMA tapos meron ding CDF Academy.

5.   Invest in Field Hospital, Kitchens and Desalinators and Water Purifier system - These are vital when everything is you have evacuation centers. Relief goods are OK. But, if people only eat 3-4 times a day and they only receive relief goods 1x-2x a week, then those goods won't be enough. IMO, field kitchens can cook food anytime of the day. Ration in short. Wala ng mag-aagawan ng relief goods dahil pipila nalang sila para sa ration ng food. Essential din ang Field  Desalinators and Water Purification System specially for coastal communities. It can turn salt water or creek water to potable water. Field Hostpitals are also vital; did you see what the Australians deployed in Tacloban airport? Astig diba? Mobile and collapsible hospital-in-one. Each LGU can have one on their respective towns for them to use in case of emergency. Manpower won't be an issue, I guess. Meanwhile, Japanese aid workers were reportedly fielding their wireless xray kits (link).

Australian Field Hospital,

6.   Field Tents - look at what our Indonesian Friends donated

And to my fellow Filipinos, Please kapag sinabihan na kayong lumikas, huwag ng matigas ang ulo.

You thought the Disaster preparation is not feasible in the Philippines, see these Role Models:

Tulang Diyot Island, Cebu Link

"All residents of Tulang Diyot Island in a Cebu town survived even if some 500 houses were destroyed by winds and waves from typhoon Yolanda, a UN report said.

 The report attributed the absence of casualties to the evacuation of around 1,000 people from the island under San Francisco town Mayor Alfredo Arquillano’s orders.

 “When it was clear how bad the typhoon would be, we decided to evacuate all 1,000 people,” the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction quoted the mayor as saying.

 Arquillano, who UNISDR recognized as a champion of for its Making Cities Resilient Campaign, said his constituents also “understood the need to move to safety.”"

"We have been working for years on early warnings, evacuations,” said Arquillano, under whose leadership San Francisco won a UN Disaster Risk Reduction Award in 2011.

 “It just shows that preparedness pays,” the mayor said further, adding that “the awareness level of the community was so high that [the evacuation] went well.”"

Albay Province

Albay Public Safety & Emergency Management Office (APSEMO). Role Model in Institutionalised and innovative disaster risk management. Link

"With institutionalized Albay Public Safety & Emergency Management Office (APSEMO), regular annual budget appropriation, permanent personnel, institutionalized research and education in partnership with academe, with safe school and safe hospital programs in partnership with Dept of Education, Dept of Health supported by AECID-Spain, with risk maps developed by PHIVOLCS, Mines and Geo-

Sciences Bureau as well as by the Local Government Units, Population data by type of hazard existing on file used as input in planning and currently conducting integration of DRR

To Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Education and trainings are done by the local technical staff of APSEMO, Structural projects as part of the regular program."

The aim of this post is to make us realize that these assets are investments when disaster strikes.

Finally, I admit, it’s easy for me to say all these things. But I think Yolanda served as an eye opener for us.

Acknowledgement:

Thanks to the timawa.net/forum community for the news feeds, insights, brilliant ideas, and photos.

Papa Speaks: Disaster Preparedness Part1

I would like to thank my beautiful and gorgeus wife, Nerisa, for giving me a corner to write my thoughts. To all the readers of this blog, my wife and I were always sharing thoughts over dinner or whenever we feel like [most are out-of-the-blue discussions] of whatever things that is under the sun. This promotes good communication and healthy debate. To my fellow dudes lurking here, your wife is the best buddy to share your comments instead of posting your insights in the net, talk them over with your wives and you will see that you have just married a Ms. Universe, beauty and brains.

Thank God for keeping my family safe and dry for the past weeks that our country has been battered with extreme weather conditions. But, we sympathize with the victims and are always ready to send out help. Even in our own little ways, we are trying to give and share to help out the relief operations to those who are affected.

I came from Cagayan Valley, which we all know is always on the path of typhoons. AFAIR in my childhood days, Signal #3 kami palagi, suki ba. Topographically speaking, Cagayan Valley is surrounded by Sierra Madre in the east, Caraballo at the south and Cordillera on its west.  Cagayan Valley should be thankful that she has these mountains covering her. Why? If you compare it to Leyte, Leyte is more flat than Cagayan. That's why Leyte caught all Yolanda's wrath. There's no mountain range to block the waves and strong winds. It is unfortunate that this is all happening to our country.

Now, we have seen Yolanda's wrath. Needless for me to say what she had caused and what is currently happening in relief operations. But what we are seeing right now is Humanity-at-Work, and some blunders.

The Players:

1.    Yolanda - Alam na natin kung anong ginawa nya, at kung anong pwedeng gawin ng kakambal niya. When this typhoon is still brewing up, my wife and I already know that this one is BIG. I have some courses on Meteorological Sciences and Nerisa having some weather-related work before.

2.    People of the Philippines - The one who suffered most. Please unite and help one another.

3.   Government

a.    Scientists - PAGASA scientists should be given a round of applause for predicting and accurately relaying information about this phenomenon. This prompts the President to give an aired plea and warning to those who will be affected of the possible disastrous effect of Yolanda.

b.    LGU - IMHO, a President’s warning should be taken seriously. I think the information was relayed down to the LGUs of the incoming disaster. The most devastating effect of Yolanda was the storm surge. They did not expect that to come and to go a few hundred meters and not as high as 16ft. Even Tacloban’s Mayor was at the ground level and his house near the seashore when the typhoon struck experiencing the big time surge. So why did he not evacuate? Hmm…

c.    Executive - Any amount of preparation was just swiped out by Yolanda. Yes, IMO, the Government was prepared. Well, hindi ka naman makakagalaw habang bumabagyo diba? So after ng bagyo, andun dapat ung execution ng plan. But, honestly I do not know what was their plan, if there’s any. And they should not point fingers to the LGUs for being at fault, kasi nasalanta din sila. The Executive level should have placed those areas under the full control of the Office of the President immediately before and after Yolanda came since they know what is coming. And the interviews did not help, and it shows more lack of competency from the words that they said. Less words, Less mistakes.

4.    AFP – A BIG round of applause for our soldiers. Now you know how we heavily depend of our Armed Forces. (I am an AFP Modernization fanboi.) Even with a depleted fleet of aircrafts and fleet, they are the main workhorse of the relief operations, 24/7. Prof Winnie Monsod asked AFP’s report. Her article in PDI Last Nov 16^th “Blame Game” narrates how the AFP manages to perform well. We have no right to blame them in any way. The disaster also unfolded the dire need to modernize our assets. It just sucks to see that it needs to have a Yolanda to realize that we are ill equipped.

5.    Media / Press - They were helpful at the beginning, offering feeds of the current situation. But with the current media-to-media conflicts happening, they're turning this unfortunate event into a circus. They are better if they keep their mouth shut kung hindi rin sila nakakatulong.

6.    The World - We are not alone. Thank you, World for lending us some help. I think we are doomed without them. Agree?

7.    Private Organizations - Everyone helps out in their own way they can. Humanity is alive.

Papa Speaks

Hello guys!

I started this blog mainly for the purpose of making Leo’s family who resides in the north to see how our baby Neo is growing.  My family is fortunate enough to be with us every week because they live nearby (tipong isang tumbling away lang).  But Leo’s family lives up north (mga 1million tumblings away) so, much as they want to be with us and see how Neo is growing, they can’t.  That’s the reason why this blog is born.

Through the time I was blogging, this blog has grown not just to show Neo’s progress and milestones but also as an online diary for a newbie wife and a 1^st time mom like me.  How I deal with our day to day activities.  How parenting and home-making changed me.

But parenting and home-making is not just for us woman.  That is the reason I will be inviting some guest post from my hubby, Leo.  Daddies also do parenting and home-making.  This is the new generation and there are a lot of shared responsibilities already.

Don’t worry, mommies.  This will still be Baby Neo’s Mama’s blog.  I will just dedicate a small portion for Leo to speak.

So expect some entries from Neo’s Papa from time to time J