Hotels told to prepare for quakes, calamities

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) in Western Visayas directed hotels in the region to conduct safety drills and briefings in the light of another quake that jolted Davao del Sur on Sunday.

These preparations are imperative in the advent of the holidays and Dinagyang festival 2020.

In an advisory signed by Jose Roberto Nuñez, RDRRMC 6 chairman and Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) 6 regional director, hotel owners and operators in the region are encouraged to identify or assign safety officers who will conduct safety briefings before the start of gatherings this holiday season.

“During the briefing, you are directed to orient your clients on what to do before, during and after an earthquake; evacuation route and plan; the designated evacuation area (should be an open space); and emergency hotline numbers,” Nuñez said in the advisory.

On Sunday, the RDRRMC also issued a memorandum directing chairpersons of provincial, highly urbanized city, city and municipal DRRM councils to account all response equipment and volunteers.

“Relative to today’s earthquake of Magnitude 6.9 with epicenter at Matanao, Davao del Sur, there is an urgent need to establish prepared measures and arrange response priorities ahead of time in our region for similar eventualities,” the memorandum said.

According to Nuñez, the accounting of the response equipment and volunteers will help their office identify local government units (LGU) that lack equipment and untrained volunteers.

“Pinapa-check natin ang list ng mga volunteers na hindi pa ready and of course ang mga ibang areas na wala talaga silang equipment para kung ano ang mga need malagay natin sa checklist,” he said in a phone interview on Monday.

Nuñez said they are also preparing for the possible deployment of response equipment and volunteers to the quake-hit areas in Davao del Sur.

“Kulang sa trained personnel and equipment yung affected area ng Davao del Sur. Kaya nag-initiate tayo para pag meron tayong equipment na na-identify pwede nating ipadala including one personnel,” he said.

He also encouraged the LGUs to use their funds to invest on disaster management and equipment in which they can identify in their Local Disaster Risk and Management Plan.

LGUs in the region have until 5 p.m. of Dec 17, 2019 to comply with the memorandum of RDRRMC 6.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake shook Davao del Sur on Sunday, causing several buildings to collapse and heavily damaged other infrastructures.

Nuñez advised the public to be vigilant and be prepared in any possible eventualities of earthquakes in the region.

“So far negative report pero wag nating asahan yung pagdating pa ng report kasi sabi ko yung earthquake indi natin ma-predict so kailangan maghanda tayo,” he stressed.