BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) urged parents and guardians to educate their children on the basic information they need to know before, during, and after a disaster.
DSWD Cordillera Disaster Response and Management Division chief Novelia Pocding said among the basic information that the children must know is the location of evacuation centers.
“Paadalan tayo dagiti annak tayo, in case adda ti mapasamak, daytoy ti serbi ti evacuation center, idjay tayo a tumaray for temporary shelter,” Pocding said.
[Let us educate our children. In case something happens, this is the evacuation center where we go for temporary shelter.]
She said that it is also important to familiarize the children with what they will do inside the evacuation center as well as the things they need to carry, especially the Go Bag or emergency preparedness bag.
They also need to know what are the contents of the Go bag, including clothes, a first-aid kit, sleeping bags, food, and drinking water, among others.
Pocding highlighted the importance of having a family evacuation plan, such as putting name tags on the children to ensure that the parents or guardians can be contacted in case of separation during a disaster. The tag includes the name of parents or guardians and contact number.
She also underlined that disaster preparedness should not be done during National Disaster Resilience Month only; it must be year-round.
Pocding also emphasized that ensuring disaster resilience is a collaborative effort of communities and other stakeholders.
“Tuloy-tuloy nga ammoen tayo nu anya ba dagiyay dapat nga role ti tunggal umili, haan tayo kuma nga ipaima amin iti gobyerno, iti barangay tayo, iti munisipyo tayo nu di ket paset tayo metlaeng amin a bumarangay. Kunada metlaeng, ti resilience ket nakadepende metlaeng iti nu kasanu tayo nga makipartisipar tapnu ti aim tayo kuma ket zero casualty wenno less casualty iti komunidad tayo.”
[Let us continue to know our roles, let us not let the government, barangay or municipality do it alone. As they say, resilience also depends on how we participate. We aim zero casualty or less casualty in our communities.]
July is Disaster National Disaster Resilience Month pursuant to Executive Order 29 signed by then President Rodrigo Duterte on June 28, 2017. This year’s observance carries the theme “Bantayog ng Katatagan at ang Pagbubuklod sa Layuning Kahandaan.” (DEG-PIA CAR)
