Emergency Plan for Earthquake and Typhoon during a Pandemic
Introduction
Emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment. The goal of emergency preparedness is to strengthen the capacity of our community to withstand a disaster or emergency situation.
Every individual plays a role during emergencies. The community can create a Disaster Response Program that serves the people their needs before, during and after a disaster.
This Disaster Response Program specifically caters in case of a typhoon and earthquake occurrence. Typhoons and Earthquakes as the natural hazards that occur in the Philippines, usually causes the biggest devastation to the country.
This emergency plan covers the whole barangay (Alabang-Zapote Road). Approximately 7,000 confirmed cases. 1,000 got inoculated by the vaccine already. The chance of getting the virus is highly unlikely.
Existing problems in the area include: We have many COVID-19 patients being brought to the hospitals in our area like Asian Hospital, RITM, etc. Also, for Covid Testing. Existing problems that will greatly affect us is that we are in the West Valley Fault Line that is a dangerous threat.
The Philippines is prone to tropical cyclones due to its geographical location which generally produce heavy rains and flooding of large areas and also strong winds which result in heavy casualties to human life and destruction to crops and properties.
The Philippines rests on the Pacific’s earthquake and volcano Ring of Fire. Earthquakes happen due to the movement of tectonic plates.
The geographical location of the community affects its vulnerability to disasters like Coastal Homes. Warm Ocean waters. Located just above the equator, the Philippines faces the western Pacific without much else in the way to take the force of storms before they make landfall. The existing plans and policies that the local government has to avoid putting people and property at risk are the health protocols. The houses built in the local community are made of cement and sturdy materials. The roofs aren’t fragile, and wouldn't be blown away. Compared to others they are experiencing, Underdevelopment. The people in the are pretty knowledgeable because they are being educated in school, work, etc. since we’re vulnerable to these disasters.
Alabang isn’t a flood-prone area since the sewage systems are good and aren’t being filled up by garbage. The city puts in the effort to keep the city clean and flood-free. Muntinlupa is one of the first among the metro’s cities to place a complete ban on Styrofoam and plastic packaging, essentially eliminating the commonly seen reasons for blocked drainage systems.
The existing plans and policies that the local government has to avoid putting people and property at risk is the probability of being buried in cement, their safety and well-being, health protocols. The houses built in the local community are made of cement, sturdy materials which is also bad since it is heavy (if it falls) people could die. There are also a lot of buildings. Avoid buying a property that is in the area where landslides usually occur. Community mitigations during pandemic such as staying at home, wearing of masks, frequent handwashing, frequent sanitation of surfaces and objects, reducing social contacts between people in different communities (school, workplaces, etc.) Assessing if the risk of the pandemic is increasing.
Though, if you really want to live in Alabang here are some mitigation techniques: Identify the safest room in the house to “Drop, Cover and Hold”. Identify and reduce earthquake hazards.
Most flood-prone cities in Metro Manila:
Manila Makati Mandaluyong Pasay San Juan Quezon City Taguig Las Pinas Navotas Pasig
Earthquake-prone areas:
Cupang Amkor Tech Embassy Village Alabang Hills Village Liberty Homes Area near Cupang and IIya Boundary Bridge Lake View Homes Area on Multiland II Jaysonville II, Railway in Buli
References
- 3 emergency management framework | Successful response starts with a map: Improving Geospatial support for disaster management | The National Academies Press. (n.d.). The National Academies Press.
- (n.d.). Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery Programs.
- Five reasons for nature’s deadly toll in the Philippines. (2013, November 12). National Geographic.
- Recovery and reconstruction planning in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan. (n.d.). PreventionWeb - Knowledge platform for disaster risk reduction.
- 10 essential items for your emergency preparedness kit from @GetReady. (n.d.). APHA Get Ready campaign.
- How to prepare for earthquakes during the pandemic. (2020, September 9).
- Earthquake safety. (n.d.). American Red Cross | Help Those Affected by Disasters.
- Disaster preparedness: Earthquakes. (n.d.). Habitat for Humanity.