Establishment of permanent evacuation centers sought

Lawmakers want permanent evacuation centers constructed at the safest areas in the country to accommodate displaced people during calamities.

Gabriela Women’s Party-list Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Luzviminda Ilagan filed House Resolution 696 urging the House Committee on National Defense and Security to direct the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and other concerned agencies to establish internationally acceptable standards for the construction and management of permanent evacuation centers.

“The aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda manifests the continuing failure of the national government to prepare for approaching disasters or to at least come up with an organized and efficient evacuation response,” Ilagan said.

“The evacuation centers that were supposed to protect the people ended up being hazards as well as most of the currently designated evacuation centers are located in disaster-prone areas and were not structurally designed as typhoon-proof,” Ilagan stressed.

Ilagan cited an article from the NDRRMC that out of the 3,424,593 families affected by Typhoon Yolanda, 890,895 families or 4,095,280 persons were displaced and served both inside and outside of evacuation centers.

Ilagan said an evacuation plan has always been a problem during disasters or calamities with schools, covered courts and even churches used as evacuation centers.

“Congestion in most evacuation centers puts at risk the evacuees, especially the pregnant women, the disabled, senior citizens and the children who are the most vulnerable in times of disasters,” Ilagan said.

Aside from crises in the congestion and availability of evacuation centers, Ilagan also noted that mobilizing the people to evacuate becomes a problem as well.

De Jesus emphasized that emergency preparedness is vital, for it establishes a state of readiness to respond to extreme events that could affect a community.

“During disasters or natural calamities, evacuation is one of the pre-disaster responses that ensure people’s safety and security,” De Jesus said.

This is true especially for the Philippines, which is hit by an average of 20 typhoons annually. “At least 5,000 families and 30,000 individuals, on average, are also affected yearly by these typhoons,” De Jesus said.

“It should be imperative for the government to provide a long-term response to the problem, hence, permanent evacuation centers located at the safest areas in the country must be established and constructed within internationally acceptable standards,” De Jesus said.(@dcherald/PR)