How to make an earthquake preparedness plan

(Part II - A Yardstick for Disaster Management of LGU Agency?)

For the past two decades, geological reports referred to a major earthquake that will rip off Metro Manila through the fault line starting from Marikina through the center of the metro. Houses actually have been sinking in Provident Village where my brother-in-law used to live.

Deep sea oil diggings that break the bedrock of the ocean like the Malampaya project, and the mining quarries across the country are compounding the problem, let alone the 40- to 50-storey highrise condominiums continuously rising on every square meter of Metro Manila.

Family earthquake preparedness plan

The safety and wellbeing of your loved ones are important, so take time NOW to develop a family earthquake preparedness plan. If you have already developed a plan, take time now to review and update it. Below is a sample plan that you can use for your family.

1) Practice “drop, cover, and hold on” to be safe during an earthquake. Identify safe spots in every room such as under sturdy desks and tables. Learn how to protect yourself no matter where you are when a disaster strikes; 2) Keep shoes and a working flashlight next to each bed; 3) Teach everyone in your household to use emergency whistles and/or to knock three times repeatedly if trapped. Rescuers searching collapsed buildings will be listening for sounds; 4) Identify the needs of household members and neighbors with special requirements or situations such as use of a wheelchair, walking aids, special diets or medication. Know about the emergency plan developed by your children’s school or day care. Keep your children’s school emergency release card current.

Know the location of utility shutoffs and keep needed tools nearby. Know how to turn off the gas, water, and electricity to your home. Turn off the gas only if you smell or hear it leak. Install smoke alarms and test them monthly. Change the battery once a year or when the alarm emits a “chirping” sound (low-battery signal).

Community emergency response team

1) Check with your city to see if there is a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program in your area. If not, ask how to start one; 2) Let your barangay organize a Red Cross first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training course. Get a training from your local fire department on how to properly use a fire extinguisher; 3) Locate a safe place outside of your home to meet your family or housemate after a disaster; 4) Designate an out-of-town contact person who can be called by everyone in the household to relay information; 5) Provide all family members with a paper list of important contact phone numbers; 6) Determine where you might live if your home cannot be occupied after an earthquake or other disasters (ask friends or relatives); 7) Keep copies of essential documents, such as identification, insurance policies and financial records in a secure, waterproof container along with your disaster supplies kit. Include a household inventory (a list and photos or video of your belongings); 8) Have occasional “earthquake drills” to practice your plan. Ask your babysitters, house sitters, neighbors, co-workers and others about their disaster plans, and share your plan with them.

Earthquake safety at the office requires participation from managers to workers

Unlike hurricanes and some other natural hazards, earthquakes strike suddenly and without warning. Nevertheless, if the business that you own or work for is located in a region at risk for earthquakes, there are many things that can be done to reduce the chances that those who work in or visit the premises will be injured, that property there will be damaged, or that your day-to-day operations will be unduly disrupted by an earthquake. These activities all fall under the concept of preparedness.

To be effective, they must be done before earthquakes occur. Preparing for earthquakes involves 1) Learning what employers and employees should do before, during, and after earthquakes; and 2) Doing or preparing to do those things now, before the next quake; 3.) Workplace preparedness requires the participation of owners, managers and workers, as well as those who design, build, regulate and maintain buildings used as workplaces. The following are activities that can be undertaken now.

Remember the Ruby Tower in Binondo, 1968

The Ruby Tower building in Binondo, Manila mostly populated by Chinese mestizos, suffered complete destruction on the August 2, 1968 quake, measuring 7.3 magnitude in the Richter scale. More than 270 died and more than 261 were injured. The epicenter was located in Casiguran, Quezon Province, although it was Manila that was severely hit. The earthquake generated a tsunami that reached as far as Japan. There was an allegation that the Ruby Tower was poorly built and the materials were of low quality.

Make your buildings safer to be in during earthquakes and more resistant to earthquake damage and disruption. Check with your local building-regulatory agency to find out whether, and for how long, structures in your area have been subject to building codes containing seismic design provisions. Facilities constructed before adequate provisions came into effect may have structural vulnerabilities.

It is also important to know whether and for how long local seismic code provisions have addressed nonstructural building components. Nonstructural items include utility systems and architectural elements (e.g. light fixtures, suspended ceilings, windows, partitions), as well as furnishings, supplies, inventory, equipment, and other building contents. Any nonstructural items that are not effectively anchored, braced, reinforced, or otherwise secured could become safety hazards or property losses in an earthquake. Design and construction professionals are needed to properly secure some of these.

From top managers to part-time workers, all must learn to react safely

pREPARE YOUR WORKFORCE TO: React Safely – Every employee, from top managers to part-time and temporary workers, needs to learn what to do during an earthquake. Safety orientations should emphasize safe places to “drop, cover, and hold on” during earthquake shaking and safe locations where people can rendezvous when the shaking has stopped and it is safe and advisable to evacuate your facilities.

Hold quarterly mandatory earthquake drills to give employees opportunities to practice what they have learned and condition themselves to react spontaneously and safely when the first jolt or shaking is felt. To help workers in the immediate aftermath of earthquakes or other disasters, arrange for employees to be trained now in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of fire extinguishers. Earthquakes should be thoroughly integrated into the organization’s emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning.

Be alert for data back-up and recovery

Help the organization survive a damaging earthquake. A prepared workforce is one that has identified the elements that are important to its operations; made plans for protecting, reconstructing, duplicating, or surviving without these elements.

Large offices like that of a school could have as much as 14 administrative departments. Our OB Montessori headquarters in Greenhills is such. Our Computer Services Department (CSD) has installed an information management system that has disciplined all personnel (Registrar, Clinic, Cafeteria, Finance, Cashier, Bookstore and Warehouse, Building & Security Maintenance, Human Resources, Purchasing, Publication, Academic, Guidance, Library and Executive) to observe a daily routine of storing up additional data. A central depository bank (server) conserves these important data files establishing an efficient database so crucial for recovery purposes in case of human errors, crimes, and disasters.

To further prevent data loss CSD reminds us to make it a practice to back-up our most important computer files in handy storage media like CDs, flash disks or external hard drives.

Prepare your barangay ‘quake smart’

It makes good business sense for employers to contribute to the well-being of the communities from which they recruit employees, clients, and customers. There are many ways that business, acting either individually or collectively through organizations such as local chambers of commerce, can help strengthen the disaster resilience of their communities. Some of these ways include serving as local exemplars of organizational preparedness; promoting preparedness among suppliers, clients, and other business contacts; and sponsoring or participating in local earthquake drills, preparedness events, or awareness and education campaigns.

When earthquake shaking begins, it is time for employees to immediately apply what they have learned about what to do during an earthquake. Reacting promptly and safely reduce your chances of being injured. Once shaking stops, workplaces should be prepared to implement prearranged, earthquake-specific emergency response and recovery plans.

Like a thief in the night

“The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do but let us stay alert and sober. “–Thessalonians 5: 1-6

(Part III – Learning from World Disasters)