DAVAO CITY Dec. 10 (PIA)- More than half of Davao City residents believe they can brace themselves against typhoons. This was the result of a survey conducted by the University of Mindanao’s Institute of Public Opinion which ran from November 20-28.
Dr. Linda Arquiza, director of the IPO said that the survey involved around 1,400 respondents from the city’s 162 barangays using a 3% margin of error. In the survey about 52 out of 100 Dabawenyos believe that they are ready for a storm, 19/100 would be frantic amidst the horrendous effect while 30/100 needed a little help as they consider themselves as somewhat ready.
Ironically, typhoon Pablo would hit Davao City along with nearby provinces a week after the completion of the survey.
However the residents reveal that the occurrence of earthquake is one disaster they feel they are least ready for. Only 44 out of 100 respondents believe they are prepared in case a strong quake would rock the city while 24/100 said they are not ready and 32/100 consider themselves as somewhat prepared.
According to Arquiza, it appeared from the survey that Davao City is readying itself for a typhoon and its accompanying strong winds and consequential floods and this could be impressed as a direct response to climate-change related disasters and not for earthquakes.
Another result of the survey is the people’s trust in the City Government towards it capability to respond quickly towards disaster of which 83% of the respondents are certain that the City could dispatch an immediate and effective first responders.
Also 82% believe that the Davao City have the vehicles ready for use during emergencies (82%) which could reduce if not zero out casualties during disaster of any kind. They also believe that the City has an emergency fund which could be utilized for relief operations and eventual rehabilitation and reconstruction of damage homes and communities.
Dabawenyos also have faith in their local leaders capacity to handle disasters. Ratings were significantly high ranging from 72% to a high of 92.24%. The Mayor has a high readiness rating of 92.24% followed by the Vice Mayor (91.15%), the barangay captain (83.87%), police (83.11%), fire department (82.12%) barangay councilman (72. 26%).
When disaster strikes, the survey revealed that Dabawenyos expect their barangay captain as their first responders with a rating of 37.18% followed by the Mayor (23.27%) and the 911 Emergency Response (18.51%).
According to Arquiza, the finding is an important information useful for disaster preparedness to post-disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts. To successfully conduct rescue, rehab and reconstruction efforts the barangay captain must be taken into the layers of communication and into the set-up of coordination.
On the whole about 50% of the people are self-assured about their personal preparedness for disasters and calamities however they have high trust in the City Government’s capacity for quick response and they see that the government is ready with the needed resources.
Arquiza said that based on the survey it can be gleamed that the Davao City with its Public Safety Unit, support of the local government and the resources for rehabilitation and reconstruction is perceived as a disaster-ready city. (PIA/RG Alama)
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