Press Release
December 22, 2011

KIKO RENEWS CALL FOR TYPHOON AND FLOOD DRILLS,
DEPLOYMENT OF EARLY WARNING DEVICES

Amid the devastation wrought by Typhoon "Sendong", Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan urges local government units anew to conduct regular typhoon and flood drills in their schools and communities. He also calls on local officials to use early warning devices that can help warn residents of urgent evacuation measures and thus save countless lives.

"If we can conduct earthquake drills in schools and offices, why shouldn't we conduct typhoon and flood drills when these are our most frequent disasters? We are ravaged by at least twenty typhoons a year, and each year we see the same story of devastation and loss. Schools and communities ought to be prepared for such occurrences to minimize casualties, if not completely avoid it."

Pangilinan earlier called for typhoon and flood drills during relief operations conducted in Bulacan and Pampanga in the wake of typhoons "Pedring" and "Quiel". Typhoon "Sendong", which hit many parts of Mindanao and southern Philippines, has left at least a thousand dead and hundreds more missing.

Pangilinan also urged LGUs to adopt the use of sirens, bells, or other early warning devices that can be used to warn communities of rising waters and the need to evacuate. "The use of sirens to alert people of rising waters should be mandatory, as should be the propagation and adoption of evacuation procedures. These systems have already been tested in small pockets around the country, with some using public-private partnerships to make such systems work. We should educate our residents on these life-saving measures--especially children--because they are usually the ones who are usually most vulnerable in these situations."

Pangilinan asks emphatically, "Marami na ang namamatay sa ganitong mga sakuna bawat taon. Ano pa ba ang hinihintay natin para kumilos at maghanap ng solusyon?"

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