In photo: Mr. Roderick Tongol, DRRM Officer of Malabon, during a previous training with ACCORD
The City of Malabon, in partnership with Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD), will hold a public forum on earthquake preparedness this Thursday, June 25, at Robinsons Mall. Representatives from the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will serve as resource persons.
In photo: Mr. Roderick Tongol, DRRM Officer of Malabon, during a previous training with ACCORD
The City of Malabon, in partnership with Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD), will hold a public forum on earthquake preparedness tomorrow, June 25, at Robinsons Town Mall Malabon. Representatives from the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will serve as resource persons.
Despite being relatively far from the West Valley Fault line, Malabon will still feel the effects of a potential 8.0-magnitude earthquake. With a large population (more than 350,000 people per the 2010 census) that grows during the day with non-resident workers, safety during the 'Big One' earthquake is a primary concern.
ACCORD has been working with the city for the last five years on disaster risk reduction efforts related mostly to flooding. According to Marieta Lupig Alcid, executive director of ACCORD, "For the longest time, that [flooding] has been the main concern here in Malabon, which is understandable. But there are other hazards that we have to face." The increased public awareness brought by the Bohol 2013 earthquake and the more recent one in Nepal provided them with an opening, "an opportunity to engage more people in building all-around resilient communities," says Alcid.
The forum will gather around 200 participants, most of them City Hall staff and members of all barangay councils in the city, to provide them with basic knowledge on earthquakes and related hazards. It will also utilize the presence of local government officials by identifying steps that will maximize available but limited resources for disaster risk reduction.
Malabon City Mayor Antolin Oreta III is expected to open the event. Ms. Kathleen Papiano of PHIVOLCS Geology Division will introduce the basics of why earthquakes happen, and why Metro Manila is prone to earthquakes and tsunami. She will also discuss the worst case scenario that Malabon needs to prepare for. MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez will also be at hand to lead the demonstration of their Mobile Earthquake Simulator. Alcid will facilitate the discussion of ways forward, especially for the individual barangays whose limited resources for DRR could be a concern.
For Alcid, forums like these are only the first steps in effective disaster risk reduction. "More than equipment and infrastructure, we need to invest in people. People who understand the risks presented by natural hazards, are concerned for the safety of their families and neighbors, and know what to do. Truly, an informed and prepared population is the only way to go against disasters."
