Emergency preparations

September 19, 2018 Opinion Sideglance

Typhoon Ompong (international name-Mangkhut) has finally crept into the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) bringing along torrential rains and expected to pack 200 to 220 kilometers per hour winds.

Ompong is one of the strongest typhoons to enter the country and has the possibility of turning into a supertyphoon once it reaches land.

With the impending danger that will be brought by this typhoon the government, both in the national and local levels, have begun their earnest preparations to mitigate and/or prevent its effect on the populace.

President Rodrigo Duterte himself seemed satisfied with the early preparations made by government agencies concerned in order to soften the blow and impact of the said typhoon. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which is one of the government agencies at the forefront of attending to the needs of the affected population, gave their assurance that food packs have already been pre-positioned in identified critical areas here in Northern Luzon, while the Finance Department has also directed the Bureau of Customs to release food items to augment the supplies to be distributed by the DSWD.

But beyond these preparations such as the pre-positioning of food packs in critical areas is the ability of the government to respond effectively to a crisis of this magnitude.

Take for instance the pre-positioning of food packs by the DSWD. Why is there a need to still pre-position food packs, shouldn’t the DSWD already have these supplies readily available in their regional offices? If not then one of the preparations that need to be done by the government is to put up warehouses or stockrooms in the DSWD regional offices or even the local government units concerned so that food packs and other essential emergency supplies can already be stockpiled for future use.

The argument that the pre-positioning of these food packs is connected to those critical areas that are yet to be identified during a calamity or crises is not sufficient relative to effective preparation. If the government is to be reliable in handling specific emergencies such as the need for food by victims then there should be a comprehensive plan to stock food supplies or food packs in all local government units and not just those to be affected. Anyway these so called food packs are not easily perishable and can be stored for a long time. If this can be done there will be no need to pre-position food supplies since they will already be available in places that will be affected by typhoons or other calamities.

Another matter that needs to be addressed by the government is the fact that during typhoons were winds are strong there is the present possibility and danger of falling electrical poles that threaten and put lives and property at risk. The available remedy for this situation is to cut-off power and render areas blacked out during the duration of the calamity as well as hope that the electrical poles can withstand the pounding of the winds.

However as a possible solution to this problem, the government thru the various power utility agencies can begin installing electrical lines beneath the ground and thus avoid putting up electrical poles in the future. This will certainly reduce if not remove the danger posed by these electrical poles and high tension power lines against lives and property.