Community Plan on Disaster Management of Barangay Malinta, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines (Final report) PDF

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1|Page Community Plan on Disaster Management of Barangay Malinta, Los Baños, Laguna Final Report March 2010 2|Page TABLE OF CONTENTS Rationale 5 Objectives of the Project 6 Significance of the Project 7 Scope and Limitation 7 Review of Related Literature 8 Methodology 16 Results and Discussion 19 De...

Description

1|Page

Community Plan on Disaster Management of Barangay Malinta, Los Baños, Laguna

Final Report

March 2010

2|Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS Rationale

5

Objectives of the Project

6

Significance of the Project

7

Scope and Limitation

7

Review of Related Literature

8

Methodology

16

Results and Discussion

19

Description of Barangay Malinta

19

Social Mapping

20

Community Meetings

22

Disaster Management Plan Matrix

35

Conclusions

36

Recommendations

37

Literature Cited

38

3|Page

LIST OF FIGURES 1

The Crunch Model

9

2

The Release Model

11

3

Phases of Disaster Management

13

4

Barangay Malinta Map

20

LIST OF TABLES 1

Disaster experienced by Purok 1

23

2

Disaster experienced by Purok 2

26

3

Disaster experienced by Purok 3

29

4

Disaster experienced by Purok 4

30

5

Disaster experienced by Purok 5

32

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INTRODUCTION I. RATIONALE Philippines is exposed to a variety of natural hazards such as typhoons, storms, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruption, landslides and droughts. According to Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, an annual average of 30 typhoons occurs in the north-western Pacific Ocean, and 20 of which occur in the Philippines alone (http://www.adpc.net/infores/country-phi.html).

Asian Development Bank also

released a study in 2008, stating that storms, landslides or earthquakes and sometimes a combination of all three at once, occur in a month in the Country (AFP, 2009). In 2009, Philippines experienced major disasters that resulted in extensive flooding and landslides, as well as substantial loss of lives and properties.

Two

typhoons, Ondoy and Pepeng, hit the country and affected over 9.3 million people, lost almost 1,000 lives, and injured more than 700 people (Post-Disaster Needs Assessment). In 2006, two typhoons also, Reming and Milenyo brought massive destructions in the country particularly in the Bicol and National Capital Regions, respectively. In the same year, there were also two extensive landslides in Southern Leyte because of heavy rainfall. Luzon also experienced volcanic eruption (Mt. Pinatubo) in 1991 and powerful earthquake in 1990. Occurrence of natural disasters is impossible to prevent, however efforts can be made to alleviate their devastating effects on human life, economy and environment. There are strategies that can be adopted to reduce their adverse impacts. One of which is to prepare developmental plans to provide resilience to disasters. Resilience refers to the “capacity of a system, community or society potentially exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure”. The financial, structural and human losses brought about by

disasters

depend

on

the

population’s

resilience

(http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-Management). 5|Page

The occurrence of disasters is also the result of human vulnerability. Vulnerability or the condition that increases the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards is caused by the lack of planning or lack of appropriate emergency management

(http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-Management).

Therefore, to reduce vulnerability, a careful planning on emergency or disaster management should be employed. Careful planning will not only lessen the impact of disasters, but it will also partially or completely prevent their adverse effects.

Participatory approach in

planning is the most effective method in disaster management, particularly in disaster risks reduction. It involves working with local people to help them examine their vulnerabilities as well as their capacities, and help them to generate an action plan (Venton & Hansford, 2006). Participatory approach is effective because it promotes empowerment of the local people by involving them in the planning process and thus, encourages their commitment, support and accountability to the plan.

II. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT The project aims to design a community plan on disaster management for Barangay Malinta, Los Baños, Laguna. Specifically, the project was conducted to: 1. Involve the community in formulating the disaster management plan; 2. Identify disasters experienced by the Barangay for the last ten years including extent of damage from each disaster identified; 3. Identify the expectations of the Barangay residents with regards to the future of their Barangay in relation to disaster in the next five years; 4. Illustrate the condition of the Barangay before, during and after the occurrence of major disasters; and 5. Identify the contribution of the different institutions/organizations inside or outside the Barangay to the residents’ welfare during times of disaster 6|Page

III. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT The community planning on disaster management can serve as the basis for the Barangay Council to establish policies and procedures that will assure protection, conservation, as well as efficient and maximum utilization of the human and non-human resources in the community during disasters. The planning, through the use of participatory approach, provided community members with the opportunity to learn how to evaluate their situation and the problems they encounter, vis-à-vis disaster, as well as their capabilities to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts of disaster.

Community leaders and some community

members were also provided with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills in planning.

Furthermore, participatory approach also strengthened the

community-LGU relationship.

IV. SCOPE AND LIMITATION Because of time and financial constraints, the planning project was conducted only in one barangay for about two months. The plan was based only on the identified disasters in the last ten years and the community expectations for the next five years.

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Various disasters happen every year and cause great damage, loss, destruction and devastation to life and property. It is impossible to prevent the occurrence of natural disaster and their damages. However, it is possible to reduce the impact or risk of disaster. At this point, disaster management is important.

1.

Disaster Management Disaster management or emergency management is the discipline of dealing with

and avoiding risks. It involves preparing for disaster before it occurs, responding to disaster, as well as supporting and rebuilding society after disaster occurs. In general, disaster management is the continuous process by which all individuals, groups, and communities manage hazards to avoid or lessen the impact of disasters resulting from the hazards. Effective disaster management relies on thorough integration of disaster plans at all levels of government and non-government involvement. group,

community)

affect

Activities at each level (individual, the

other

levels

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_management). Generally, disaster management involves the following: pre-disaster planning, preparedness, monitoring including relief management capability; prediction and early warning;

and

damage

assessment

and

relief

management

(http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-Management).

1.1.

Understanding Disaster: The Crunch Model In disaster management, it is important to understand what disaster is and why it

happens. The Crunch Model shows us that a disaster happens only if a hazard meets a vulnerable situation. This model is based on the idea that several factors influence vulnerability to disaster (Venton & Hansford, 2006).

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HAZARD

VUNERABILITY

DISASTER

HAZARD

ELEMENTS

VUNERABLE

AT RISK

CONDITIONS

Figure 1. Crunch Model showing how disaster happens

Hazard Hazard is defined as a phenomenon that poses a threat to people, structures, or economic assets and which may cause a disaster. It also refers to an event that can lead to danger, loss and injury. Hazard can either be a naturally occurring or man-made event (http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-Management).

Disaster Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that brings great damage, loss, destruction and devastation to life and property. Its damage is immeasurable and varies with the geographical location, climate and the type of the earth surface. Disaster affects the socioeconomic, political and cultural state of the affected area. It disrupts the normal day to day life, and the normal needs and processes (e.g. food, shelter, health, etc.) deteriorate depending

on

the

intensity

and

severity

of

the

disaster

(http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-Management). Disaster can be classified into two types, natural and human-made. Natural disaster includes flood, cyclone, drought earthquake, cold wave, thunderstorms, heat wave, mud slides, storm, etc. While human-made disaster

9|Page

refers to fire, deforestation, pollution, war, road accident and industrial disaster (http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-Management).

Elements at Risk People depend on several different 'elements' such as houses, water supplies, social groups and networks, jobs and the natural environment. If these elements are vulnerable, the hazard is more likely to cause damage on them. Thus, they are called 'elements at risk' (Venton & Hansford, 2006). Risk is defined as the “measure of the expected losses due to a hazardous event of a particular magnitude occurring in a given area over a specific time period”. It is a function of the probability of particular occurrences and the losses each would cause. The level of risk relies on the nature of the hazard, vulnerability of the affected elements, and the economic value of those elements (http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/NaturalDisaster-Management). Some elements are at risk because they are unable to withstand the impact of a hazard. This vulnerability might be economic (e.g. fragile livelihoods), natural (e.g. dependence on very few natural resources), constructed (e.g. location of houses on an unstable slope), individual (e.g. lack of skills or knowledge), and social (e.g. disorganized or fragmented society) (Venton & Hansford, 2006).

Vulnerability It is defined as "the extent to which a community, structure, service, and/or geographic area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of particular hazard, on account of their nature, construction and proximity to hazardous terrain or a disaster prone area" (http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-Management). People are vulnerable when they are unable to adequately anticipate, withstand and recover from hazard (Venton & Hansford, 2006).

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1.2

Reducing Disaster Risk: The Release Model Disaster risk reduction is part of disaster management. In doing this, the factors that

cause risk should be addressed. The diagram below shows the Release Model which shows the action that can be taken to reduce disaster risk in different parts of the Crunch Model (Venton & Hansford, 2006).

Figure 2. The Release Model showing the actions that can reduce disaster risk

Reduced hazards There are actions or ways that can be performed to minimize the occurrence, frequency or strength of various hazards. Example of which are the following: building embankments to reduce flooding; planting trees to prevent landslides; and using advocacy to influence policies that limit climate change, which is increasing the frequency and severity of some natural hazard.

Protected elements These are the elements of a community that can withstand the impact of a hazard. For example, a tube well could have a pump on a high platform so that it is not affected by 11 | P a g e

flooding. These elements should be identified, supported and copied by development approaches to relief.

Safe conditions Strengths or capacities can be used to mitigate the impact of disaster. However, oftentimes these are not fully understood by outsiders – that vulnerable people have strengths. For example, elderly people are considered as vulnerable compared with others in the community during disasters, but they actually have the capacities which others may not have. They have a wealth of knowledge and good understanding of what solutions have worked well or failed in the past. These strengths should be discovered and recognized to reduce disaster risk.

Pressures released In times of disaster, some structures and processes, such as NGO, local leaders and politicians, can be an important source of support. They may also work to strengthen the community and help in making effective advocacy work in order to release negative pressures.

Underlying causes addressed Some structures and processes may help to reduce the risk of disaster because of their fair and just political and economic approaches as well as values. Advocacy can be used to encourage these values.

2.

Phases of Disaster Management The nature of management depends on local economic and social conditions. Some

disaster relief experts such as Fred Cuny have noted that the only real disasters are 12 | P a g e

economic. According to Cuny, the cycle of disaster management must include long-term work on infrastructure, public awareness, and even human justice issues. This concept of disaster management is particularly

important

in

developing

nations

(http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-DisasterManagement). The process of disaster management involves four phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery (http://www.scribd.com/doc/20074913/Natural-Disaster-

Figure 3. Phases of Disaster Management

Management).

Mitigation Mitigation effort intends to prevent hazards from developing into disasters altogether, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they occur. It is the most costefficient method for reducing the impact of hazards. Mitigative measures can be structural or non-structural. Structural measures use technological solutions (e.g. flood levees) while non-structural measures include legislation, land-use planning (e.g. the designation of nonessential land like parks to be used as flood zones), and insurance. The mitigation phase focuses on long-term measures for reducing or eliminating risk. The implementation of mitigation strategies can be considered as part of the recovery process if applied after a disaster occurs. However, even if applied as part of recovery efforts, actions that reduce or eliminate risk over time are still considered mitigation efforts. The disaster mitigation works mainly to address the following: a) Minimize the potential risks by developing disaster early warning strategies; b) Prepare and implement developmental plans to provide resilience to such disasters; c) Mobilize resources including communication and telemedicinal services; and lastly d) Help in rehabilitation and postdisaster reduction.

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Preparedness In the preparedness phase of disaster management cycle, emergency managers develop plans of action that will be applied when a disaster strikes. Some common preparedness measures are the following: a) Communication plans with easily understandable terminology and chain of command; b) Development and practice of multiagency coordination and incident command; c) Proper maintenance and training of emergency services; d) Development and exercise of emergency population warning methods combined with emergency shelters and evacuation plans; and lastly e) Stockpiling, inventory, and maintenance of supplies and equipment.

Response The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services such as fire-fighters, police and ambulance crews, as well as first responders in the disaster area.

Recovery Recovery phase aims to restore the affected area to its previous state and thus, recovery efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed. Recovery efforts are specifically concerned with actions that involve rebuilding destroyed property, re-employment, and the repair of other essential infrastructure.

3. Participatory Planning on Disaster Management Planning is vital for organizations and communities. Planning is a process of deciding in advance where we want to get to (our goal) and how we will get there. According to Rue 14 | P a g e

and Byars (1992), planning is the “process of deciding what objectives to pursue during the time period and what to do to achieve those objectives”. Walters (1962) also defined it as the process of “pre-thinking, thinking up, thinking out and the thinking through the administration”. One type of planning is the community planning. It refers to the “systematically arranged activities undertaken by the people in the community in order to achieve their commonly desired ends and goals”. Community planning should be applied in disaster management. Since disaster affects members of the community, their involvement in the planning process is important. Furthermore, participatory approach in planning should also be employed in disaster management because it promotes empowerment of the local people and thus, encourages their commitment, support and accountability to the plan.

Purpose of Participatory Planning

3.1

According to Kurian, T and Ramkumar, B. (n.d.), participatory planning aims to create a platform for learning rather than plunging directly into problem solving. The process of participatory planning is expected to enhance specifically the following: 

Identification of the felt needs of the people;



Bringing forth consensus;



The empowerment of local disadvantaged groups;



Integration of local knowledge systems into project design;



Two‐way learning process between the project and local people;



Political commitment and support;



Accountability in local governance.

Some of the potential benefits of involvement are: 

Better understanding of the strategy and plans; 15 | P a g e



Increased commitment and support for achieving them;



Better decisions in the planning process because of a wider range of relevant input.



More relevant decisions because they are based on experience and local knowledge.



More e...