Quakes will not wait – here is your go bag checklist

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Authorities are urging the public to prepare emergency go bags and reinforce household safety measures following recent earthquake swarms in southern Iloilo and Antique, as well as the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Sarangani on June 8.

Raul Fernandez, director of the Office of Civil Defense in Western Visayas (OCD-6), said preparedness at the household level is critical to reducing injuries during earthquakes.

“Just to be prepared, we should have an emergency go bag. An earthquake emergency go bag should contain essential items to help you survive at least three days if you need to evacuate immediately,” he told Daily Guardian in an interview.

An emergency go bag typically includes potable water, nonperishable food, a first-aid kit with medications, a flashlight with batteries, a hand-crank radio, a phone charger and power bank, sturdy shoes, extra clothes, a space blanket, a dust mask, a survival knife, a whistle, a wrench, important documents in a waterproof container, emergency cash, hygiene items, and special-needs supplies.

Fernandez also reminded households to improve safety indoors by securing heavy furniture and appliances.

Residents are advised to anchor cabinets, bookshelves, and large appliances to walls to prevent them from tipping during strong shaking.

“Do not place heavy objects on upper shelves and keep bulky items closer to the ground,” he added.

Households were likewise urged to secure liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks and install latches on cabinet doors.

Fernandez also encouraged families to establish emergency plans, including evacuation routes, designated meeting points, and awareness of emergency hotlines.

He added that continuous participation in earthquake drills remains essential to building public readiness, noting that panic often worsens outcomes during seismic events.

“The major killer really is panic. To avoid panic, we should build our confidence through constant participation in our drills,” he said.

On Thursday, June 18, the OCD conducted its second-quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED).

For the first time, OCD-6 also conducted a nighttime earthquake drill at the Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurriao, featuring a full-scale hospital evacuation scenario.

Since June 14, at least 27 earthquakes have been recorded in Western Visayas, most with epicenters off Anini-y, Antique.

The strongest was a magnitude 4.8 quake near Anini-y on the evening of June 14.

Antique is seismically active, and the province lies along the West Panay Fault.

It was near the epicenter of the 1948 “Lady Caycay” earthquake, a magnitude 7.8 tremor on Jan. 25, 1948, that reached maximum intensity X and remains the second-strongest in Philippine recorded history.

Locals named it for the Hiligaynon word describing the chicken-scratch fissures the shaking tore across Panay, where it toppled dozens of Spanish-era churches.

Expansion of prepositioned relief goods

Fernandez said the agency is also studying an expansion of prepositioned emergency relief goods across strategic locations in the region as part of strengthened earthquake preparedness.

Supplies are currently stored at key sites that include Culasi and Camp General Leandro L. Fullon in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique; Camp Major Jesus M. Jimenez in Banga, Aklan; Camp General Macario Peralta Jr. in Jamindan, Capiz; and, in Iloilo, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional warehouse in Oton and Camp General Adriano D. Hernandez in Dingle.

Fernandez said the additional prepositioning areas being evaluated include Camp Antonio Belo in Panitan, Capiz; strategic locations in Guimaras; and more hubs in both northern and southern Iloilo.

The OCD-6 chief also underscored the importance of establishing Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA) teams in local government units (LGUs).

RDANA teams are tasked with immediately determining the extent of damage and identifying urgent relief and response requirements after a disaster, serving as the basis for decisions on resource allocation and recovery priorities.

“So far, many LGUs already have trained RDANA teams. This is a multi-agency effort at the local level,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez also reiterated calls for stronger enforcement of earthquake-resilient building standards, citing countries such as Taiwan, which experiences stronger quakes but records fewer casualties because of stricter infrastructure compliance.

“If that happens to us, we do not think that our buildings now, their present conditions, can really withstand a ground shaking that strong. That is the main challenge that we have here,” he said.