It's More Than Time To Raise Natural Disaster Preparedness In The Philippines

What Filipinos can learn from progressive nations near them like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and China is that they're prepared for natural disasters. The Philippines is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire which means that it's prone to earthquakes (therefore which could lead to tsunamis) and volcanic eruptions. Doesn't that mean it's time to instill the spirit of disaster preparedness? It's something that's rare in the Philippines. It just reminds me of how Pilosopong Tasyo was upset that people chose to spend their money on fiestas rather than buying lightning rods.

I remembered a lot of natural disasters that happened during the 90s or a few years ago. Who could remember how Pinatubo and Mayon erupted? If you're a 90s child like me then I guess some of you may have remembering Typhoon Ruping. Would have the people near those disaster prone areas been ready to vacate with the early signs of a volcanic eruption or before an incoming typhoon then much casualties could have been prevented. It's the problem that the Philippines that procrastination is already a national bad habit that prevents progress. As the saying goes time waits for nobody. Father Time doesn't have Filipinos has his VIPs nor does he serve VIP cards to any nationality. 

Natural disaster preparedness means throwing out the attitude that says I'd rather commit suicide than follow rules. One good reason why so much disaster preparedness goes undone is because of people who don't want to follow simple guidelines. When there is a drill you better do what you're told. When there's a disaster you better do what you're told. Part of orderly evacuation and rescue means everyone must follow simple guidelines. Time waits for nobody and you can't expect time to freeze for you. Every second counts in natural disaster preparedness. Every second loss can mean a lot of lives have been lost in the process.

This doesn't only mean only readiness from the citizens but also figures of authority and rescue workers. Better damage control would be accomplished if authority figures executed snappy action like repairing defective structures and evacuating people when there's an upcoming disaster forecast. It would mean cooperation and coordination from everyone in the community. This would also mean training rescue workers to be always ready to face these natural disasters when they come or people who take advantage of natural disasters to do crimes.