Disaster education

The earthquake that shook Cebu province lately was probably the strongest in this generation. Although the epicenter was in Negros Oriental, its magnitude was enough to paralyze both the livelihood and spirit of the Cebuanos for a day. Businesses immediately closed, people’s faces were painted pale and dreary as if stricken by some kind of a dreaded disease. Fear enveloped the city and the air of vulnerability and danger seemed to have occupied everybody’s mind until someone, shouted “Tsunami!” and everyone went berserk, running for their dear lives.

I was a witness to the mass hysteria as I also live near downtown area. People abandoned their homes and left open their stores as if they forgot to have one. A man in his forties, arduously but dearly lugged on his back a silver-gray casket that must have contained a child of his who just recently passed away. An octogenarian, apparently paraplegic, was bludgeoned by the scuffle and the sudden rush of a panicking mob while his relatives screamed to the highest heavens that they be saved from the thronging and the “wrath” that was forthcoming behind them.

But there was no wrath. It was a wrath only imagined and concocted by those whose ignorance is as deadly as the tsunami itself. Indeed little knowledge is dangerous – even more dangerous in the midst of a natural crisis like an earthquake.         

It was such a pity that I wasn’t prepared and trained as a disaster volunteer at the time. I was also tensed not because of the (imagined) tsunami that was said to be rushing towards our direction but because everyone was endangering themselves – cars, trucks and jeepneys became part of the crowd and drivers were bent on running over anyone on their path as they too were panic-stricken. With roving police officers at the time, I tried with whatever help I could do to help in calming the tensed crowd -- trying to help dispel the notion of a tsunami but we could only do so much. We realized that we were also endangering ourselves.

I hurried immediately towards the side of the road to avoid the frenzy. And as I tried to look for the policemen so we could regroup ourselves, they were also running in the same direction like everyone else! One police officer across the street was obviously sobbing and weeping. He was calling his wife and must have been so worried about his children as well. I could not blame him for forgetting his post and his badge. A crisis of such scale may probably cause any tough policeman to forget his sworn duty. But thanks to the Cebu City Fire Department. They came in a little late though, but they were the first to reassure the crowd that there was no tsunami. It was such a good idea, really. It was very helpful.

It is futile to blame the Phivolcs or the city government for what happened. We have a lot to be thankful for that the “tsunami scare” did not do any serious damage to lives and property. But I must say that it was more dangerous than the tsunami or the earthquake itself.

What happened should serve as a good lesson to everyone specially the local government units that crucial to any disaster is information. Information is the best defense of people both from the disaster and doomsday-mongerers. And information should be dispatched swiftly and efficiently. 

To do this, we need to have a public announcement (PA) system installed in every barangay. This PA system costs so little but brings a lot of benefit to the barangays. Barangay Suba for example, under the leadership of Roger Resureccion, already has this PA system a long time ago. At the onset of the earthquake, he announced straight away to his constituents to stay calm and wait for advice from the barangay. While the Barangay wasn’t able to immediately respond to the un-anticipated tsunami scare, it was probably the only barangay to have been able to drive back home their panicking residents. The PA would be very useful to bring order, counteract rumors and lessen the anxious atmosphere brought about by disasters.

More than anything else, we need to invest in disaster-preparedness education. Earthquake drills should be mandatory in all schools in the province. Earthquake notices should be placed conspicuously in government buildings as well as in commercial establishments. The fire department should take every major earthquake as a general alarm and should mobilize right away their firetrucks and personnel in disaster-prong locations. Finally, I think our police department needs a lot of catching up to do in terms of disaster education – they should be among the first to also respond and take part in disaster management.

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