By Annabel Consuelo Petinglay/Philippine News Agency
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique — A caravan around the Municipality of San Jose de Buenavista kicked off the 2019 National Disaster Resilience Month (NDRM) provincial observance on Monday.
Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Broderick Train said in an interview after the Monday kick-off ceremony that they held a caravan around San Jose de Buenavista to make the people aware of the importance of readiness during a calamity.
“Antique is prone to landslides and floods as natural hazards so it is important that the people are ready at all times,” he said.
He said that although the municipal DRRM officers of the 18 local government units in the province have already undergone several trainings intended to enhance their capabilities, there is really a need for each household to become aware and make their own preparations.
“Whenever a disaster strikes a family, it is always their family member who is the first to respond,” he said.
He said that given the situation, family members should make themselves ready and capable to respond.
“A family should also have an emergency kit with food supplies always ready for we don’t know when a disaster would strike,” he said.
Train recalled that last year, the province experienced disasters such as landslide and flooding due to the southwest monsoon rains as well as vehicular accidents.
“For the past three years, however, thankfully there was no major landslide incident that happened,” he said.
Among the major disasters which struck Antique early this year include the vehicular accident involving a Ceres bus that fell off a cliff in Hamtic town and killed three passengers on April 5; the flashflood in Lagasianan Creek in San Remigio on May 19 where four people drowned; and a tornado that totally damaged four households made of light materials in Barangay Badiangan, Patnongon on May 31.
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