News and Features
Smart Batingaw Rings In Tsunami-Preparedness Drill In Surigao
[JANUARY 20, 2007] - A warning bell recently sounded in the coastal barangay of Diatagon in Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
It was the signal for some 2,000 residents participating in a Tsunami drill to leave their homes and evacuate to the Diatagon Elementary School.
The drill was part of a Tsunami-preparedness activity conducted by the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in coordination with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB), National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC), Municipal Coordinating Council (MDC) and the Provincial Government.
“I am very happy that Diatagon was chosen for inclusion in Project Ready,” said Barangay Chairman Fernando Edwin S. Balili Jr.
Diatagon, which faces the Philippine Sea, is considered a potential tsunami-risk area. Surigao del Sur lies along the Philippine Fault and is prone to earthquakes, which could set off tidal waves. Hence, Barangay Diatagon is among the communities in 27 high-risk provinces that have been selected for Project Ready.
“Diatagon’s land structure is limestone. Water dissolves it easily. Thus, a tsunami poses a very grave threat to the community,” said Ishmael Narag of Phivolcs..
Patrick Alain S. Callanta, Provincial Coordinator of the Surigao del Sur Office of Civil Defense added that Diatagon lies beside the Lianga Fault which runs from the bay and crosses other municipalities.
“Diatagon is a low-lying coastal area with lots of rivers and creeks making it flood- prone from December till March when floods sometimes last more than a week. All these make land structure very weak,” he said.
Project Ready is a disaster-preparedness initiative that seeks to prepare high-risk provinces in the untimely event of a calamity, natural disaster and/or other emergencies.
In support of the project, Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) donated 100 units of batingaws or early warning devices fashioned out of recycled acetylene tanks.
Smart also donated 16,000 brochures on landslides, floods, tsunami and earthquakes that will be distributed in Surigao del Sur and Surigao del Norte as well as in Leyte and Southern Leyte.
The donations fall under the community-based disaster preparedness component of Project Ready, which include the implementation of an early warning system and the information, education and communication (IEC) campaign.
The two other components of Project Ready are multi-hazard identification and disaster risk assessment and the integration of risk reduction into the local development planning process.
The batingaw plays a key role in the community-based early warning system set up under Project Ready. A duly authorized official, usually the barangay captain, strikes the batingaw to warn residents in times of disaster that it is time to flee to the pre-selected evacuation center.
For Diatagon, the task fell on the shoulders of Balili. Once he struck the batingaw, the residents immediately walked to the Diatagon Elementary School, which has been selected as the evacuation center since it is located on high ground. The residents were guided by signs set up along the way.
In a ceremony signaling the turnover of the community-based Tsunami early warning system in Barangay Diatagon, Ishmael C. Narag, Jane Punongbayan and Engr. Erlinton Antonio B. Olavere of Phivolcs handed over three batingaws to Balili.
These batingaws had proven effective in a similar initiative conducted in the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar (REINNA) in Quezon Province.
Smart initially worked with Phivolcs in the implementation of the REINA community-based early warning system after the three Quezon towns were battered by a series of killer floods and landslides in late November and December 2004.
“We’re very grateful that Smart is providing batingaws once more. They have showed their continued support starting from the REINA Project to Project Ready. The batingaws will be distributed among all the high-risk provinces covered by the project,” said Punongbayan.
A similar community-based early warning system was also implemented in Sorsogon province following a series of ash explosions from Mount Bulusan in July last year. Aside from 20 batingaws, Smart also provided mobile phones and airtime load to OCD - Region 5 and Phivolcs in Barangay Bulusan, Irosin, Sorsogon in preparation for disaster response and relief operations. @
