“In a country threatened on a regular basis by natural calamities like typhoons and earthquakes, we need a populace that knows what to do when disaster strikes.”
This came from Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez who on Sunday called on educators to integrate disaster preparedness in the K-12 curriculum to ensure that all citizens are able to respond in the event that their locales are hit by a natural calamity.
“Given the climate and geological characteristics of our country, all our people are at risk,” stressed Romualdez, whose district was badly hit when Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ struck the country in November 2013.
The most powerful storm recorded at landfall, Typhoon Yolanda claimed more than 6,000 Filipino lives. The majority of the fatalities were recorded in Romualdez’s home province of Leyte, where 5,370 people lost their lives.
Romualdez, who is running for a seat in the Senate, said that the painful lessons of Yolanda “should prompt us to take steps to ensure that our people are equipped with knowledge that can help them survive a disaster of this magnitude.”
“We have to act now to prepare our people before another Yolanda-level storm hits us. Acting now could prevent future loss of life.”
Education, according to the UP-trained lawyer, is the key.
“Infomercials are helpful in educating the public regarding how to respond to disasters, but they’re not enough,” explained the solon from the Visayas.
“From a young age, students should be taught the basics of disaster preparedness so that it comes as naturally to them as their ABCs,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez added that this involves educating students on the possible scenarios when an area is hit by flash floods, storm surges and high intensity earthquakes and what to do when these occur; evacuation routes and possible shelter areas; and basic first aid and CPR, among others.
The curricula can be developed by the Department of Education and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, together with the Department of Science and Technology, with input from the country’s disaster preparedness experts, explained the three-term congressman.