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Fr. Leo Pabayo . 

THE need to be prepared is the most important lesson we can learn from the 2011 disaster. It sounds simple and common sensical. But simplest things are often the most important.  They are also often the most forgotten. This concept of being prepared was drummed into our consciousness by our parents and by Scout Masters when we were children. We get good lessons on it in fire drills. Yet preparedness is still not deeply ingrained in our culture. We continue to have many casualties in disasters that could have been prevented had precautions been taken.

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The local government was given sufficient warnings of a possible flash flood that would be disastrous for the people living by the river. But the local officials did not give it much importance. According to reports, they did not consider it a priority. They in fact did what the DENR warned them against!

In the homes and in institutions, the No. 1 priority ought to be safety measures. But even institutions are sometimes sorely lacking on it. For example, how many construction companies take sufficient safety measures in construction? Accidents that have injured or killed workers still happen.

If we have been slow on safety in our institutions we are worse of in our homes. It should concern us that while we have safety measures for schools and offices including fire drills and earthquake drills, our homes are sorely lacking in them. How many homes have fire extinguishes? How many have alarms that automatically sound off when heated or smoked? How many have sprinklers in the ceilings that automatically release water when sensing heat?

As a community we have to undertake united action to make our officials more responsive to our need for safety on the macro level. However, safety measures on the micro level are our individual responsibilities.

A big flood is likely to happen again because the factors that brought it about are still there. We may not know when it will happen but it is wise to presume that it will come and that we better prepare for it now.  The stories that we just related already has important lessons on what kind of preparation we need to do. First and foremost is to heed the DENR and the Climate Change Congress of the Philippines (CCCP) and not build on disaster prone areas.

I imagine that many drowned because they could not get out of their houses as soon as the flood came. This is because many houses are fire traps that had become flood traps in the recent flood. The iron grills on the windows of these houses are largely responsible for that. We grill our windows to fend off robbers but we do so in a way that we risk being trapped in the house in case of fire, flood or an earthquake. Windows should also serve as exits in time of such emergency. There should be a safety feature in window grills of our houses. Although these grills should be securely fastened they should however be easily opened in case of fire, flood or earthquake. We have had so many cases of people being trapped in the house in a fire because of these grills. There must have been many more trapped during the recent flood because of them.

Getting out of the house quick in such kind of flood gives one a good chance of surviving and much more so if one can swim. 

I hope that inventive minds will start working and come up with a design for window grills that while they will protect the occupants they will however not trap them in case of fire, flood and earthquake.

(Fr. Leo Pabayo is a member of the Jesuit order. He is based in Cagayan de Oro.)

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