MODULE 3 - DISASTER AWARENESS, PREPAREDNESS, and MANAGEMENT

Learning Outcomes:
1. Awareness on the Philippines’ geographic and sociological hazardous areas as well
as the agencies behind the planning, implementation, and action.
2. Learn basic care for non-fatal illnesses and injuries.
3. Proper execution for CPR, bandaging and rescue procedures.
4. Learn the value and difference between being prepared and resilient.
5. Adaptation by learning from previous trends of disasters.

Learning Resources
Projector, Power Point, Pen and paper, NSTP Module

Methodology
Structured Learning Exercise, Lecture, Demonstration, Simulation Exercises

Learning Concept

Topi 1: Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Concepts, Principles, and Trends (RA
10121)

Disaster – a sudden event, such as an accident, human induced or natural catastrophe, that
causes great damage or loss of life.

Disaster awareness - Disaster risk awareness, which denotes the extent of common
knowledge about disaster risks, and the factors that lead to disasters, influence the actions
that could be taken individually or collectively to address exposure and vulnerability to
hazards.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

A structured framework from Government and Non-government Organizations to

increase awareness and preparedness of the people to handle disasters. These are
concepts and ideas based on locality devised to decrease vulnerabilities, casualties and
property damage of its constituents as a pro-active approach to a disaster and its
possible aftermath.

NDRRMP (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan) – fulfills the
requirement of RA No. 10121 of 2010, which provides the legal basis for policies, plans
and programs to deal with disasters.

NDRRMC (National Risk Reduction and Management Council) – implements and

ensures the physical framework, social, economic and environmental plans of
communities, cities, municipalities and provinces are consistent with the NDRRMP.

NDRRMF (National Risk Reduction and Management Framework) – principal guide to

DRRM efforts to the country.

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 ◦ These leading offices are composed of different government departments to aid
on the effort for providing a better pre or post disaster services. They convey
information campaign through message alerts, news, social media and other
mediums for faster dissemination of information or alerts whenever there are
upcoming or post natural calamities. Another key factor to consider are the
“contacts” (a person or an agency). Informing or calling in to the proper authorities
to handle the situation is a must for the proper response of a situation.

Topic 2: Geographic Profile of the Philippines

◦ Throughout the recorded history of the Philippines. Remarkably, tropical storms

and flood are the most frequent occurring hazards. It is also vulnerable to
earthquake, tsunami and landslides due to its geographical location. The
frequency, intensity and variability of these hazards have heightened the
compelling need for the nation to adopt disaster risk reduction and management
(DRRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA). These increased levels of hazards
need proper attention in order to reduce losses to human lives, property, crops,
natural resources and other assets in all parts of the country.

The country is also located on a highly seismic area along the Pacific Ring of Fire where two
major tectonic plates meet (Philippine Sea and Eurasia) meet and is highly prone to
earthquakes and volcano eruptions.

◦ Aside from natural hazards, the country also experiences human-induced disaster
brought about or influenced political and socio-economic factors, among others.
These violence occurs all through out the country, even more so on the Southern
part. There are thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) remain in custody
of their relatives or temporary shelters allotted by the National and Local
Government Units

◦ Because of the country’s susceptibility to natural and human-induced disasters,

efforts already have been made to build people’s capacities and resilience to
disasters, especially since the Philippine Government joined 167 other nation at
the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan.

Topic 3: Disaster Risk Profile of the Philippines

◦ Specific Region
▪ Refers to a significant land or sea area or both where you are located. Factors
to consider are the geographic location, resources, terrain and weather
conditions of a country or region.
◦ Current Location
▪ This is a more circumstantial factor, due to its smaller scale of consideration.
Examples are: accident prone areas, vulnerability on variable scale crimes and
natural disasters, wherein disaster responses and availability of resources are
more centered on an on-going incident or a dangerous area due to its locality.

Topic 4: Thematic Areas of the Philippine Disaster Management System

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 ▪ relevant fields associated with disaster management.

◦ Prevention and Mitigation

OVERALL RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: DOST
▪ Prevention – an outright intention to completely avoid potential adverse
impacts through action taken in advance. Examples: construction of dams or
embankments that eliminate flood risks, seismic engineering designs for
buildings to survive an earthquake, etc.
▪ Mitigation – the lessening or limitation of the adverse impacts of hazards and
related disasters. Mitigation measures include engineering techniques and
hazard resilient construction as well as improved environmental policies and
public awareness.

◦ Preparedness
OVERALL RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: DILG
▪ the knowledge and capacities developed by governments, professional
response and recovery organizations, communities and individuals to
effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from the impacts of likely,
imminent or current hazard events or condition. Preparedness involves; early
warning systems, contingency planning, stockpiling of equipment and supplies,
proper coordination with authorities and public information system and
appropriate training and field exercises.

◦ Response
OVERALL RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: DSWD
▪ the provision of emergency service and public assistance during or immediately
after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce negative health impacts, ensure
public safety and meet the basic needs of the affected people. It predominantly
focuses on an immediate and short term needs provision called “disaster
relief”.

◦ Rehabilitation and Recovery

OVERALL RESPONSIBLEAGENCY: NEDA
▪ Rehabilitation – an act that ensure the ability of affected communities and/or
areas to restore their normal level of functioning by rebuilding livelihood and
damaged infrastructure and increasing the communities’ organizational
capacity.
▪ Post disaster and recovery – the appropriate restoration and improvement of
facilities, livelihood and living conditions of disaster-affected communities,
including efforts to reduce disaster risk factors, with the principle of “Build
Better”.

Topic 5: Role of the Youth in Disaster Preparedness and Management/Basic Preparedness

and Response Training

▪ They have the ability to learn and adapt to the environment. Similarly, they are
willing to learn and act on it as well to achieve their goals. Our youth can bring
social reform and improvement in society.

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 ▪ Today’s youth are more versed in terms of technology compared to older folks
that didn’t have the technology available in their time that we so enjoy
nowadays. The newer generations were the ones to exploit these technology
hence making them a good resource for echoing to other constituents with
what they’ve learned from lectures, seminar and trainings. Also the mere fact
that they are more active based on age and inquisitiveness that makes it
advantageous to work beside them.

❖ Basic First Aid/Basic Life Support

First Aid - refers to an emergency or immediate care you should provide when a person is
injured or ill until full medical treatment is available. For minor conditions, first aid care may
be enough. For serious problems, first aid care should be continued until more advanced care
becomes available.

◦ Common Injuries and Illness

Allergies
Cold or Flu
Cough, sore throat, fever
Diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting
Recurring Headache/Migraine
Asthma
Cuts, scratches, wounds, burns
Urinary tract infection
Fractures
Sprains/Strains
And much more non fatal emergencies

▪ Do’s
Stay calm
Your safety is priority
Make sure the scene is safe
Perform only what you know
Call for immediate Help
Control the crowd
▪ Don't s
Poor Scene/Patient Assessment
Hasty Extrication
Improper Aid Application
None Communicative
Providing Non-Prescribed Medicine

5 Rules in First Aid

◦ Loosen all tight clothing or materials from neck to foot.
◦ Control the bleeding
◦ Cover all wounds, burns and scalds and immobilize all fractures
◦ Improvise necessary materials, which are not readily available
◦ Transport/Dispose the victim/patient properly

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 Procedure and Proper care
◦ Primary survey:
▪ The primary survey is a quick way to find out how to treat any life threatening
conditions a casualty may have in order of priority.
◦ Check for Danger.
◦ Check for a Response.
◦ Open Airway.
◦ Check Breathing.
◦ Check Circulation.
◦ Treat the steps as needed
◦ Secondary Survey
▪ Once you have completed a primary survey and treated any life-threatening
conditions, move on to a secondary survey. Ask a responsive casualty and those
around them questions about any incident that may have occurred. Your aim
is to find out more about the casualty’s history, signs and symptoms. If possible,
take note of their answers.
▪ Leave the casualty in the position found until you are satisfied that it is safe to
move them into a position more suitable for their injury or illness.
▪ History – find out more about the casualty’s history. Use the
mnemonic AMPLE as an easy reminder. Look out for any medical warning
jewellery which may provide information their medical history or any allergies.
Allergy – Do they have any allergies? For example, nuts or any medication
such as penicillin or aspirin?
Medication – are they taking any medication?
Previous medical history – do they suffer from any medical condition such
as diabetes, epilepsy or heart disease? Have they had any previous injuries
or surgery.
Last meal – when did they last eat or drink?
Event history – what happened and where? Is the incident due to an illness
or an accident? Ask any people nearby what happened and look for any
clues that may give you more information.
Signs – look, listen, feel and smell for any signs of injury such as swelling,
deformity, bleeding, discolouration or any unusual smells. When checking
them you should always compare the injured side of the body with the
uninjured side. Are they able to perform normal functions such as standing
or moving their limbs? As you check, make a note of any superficial injuries
to treat once you’ve finished your examination.
Symptoms – ask the casualty short, simple questions about any symptoms
and sensations they may be feeling. They should answer in as much detail
as possible. For example, ask them:
◦ Do you have any pain?
◦ Where is the pain?
◦ When did the pain start?
◦ Can you describe the pain, is it constant or irregular, sharp or dull?
◦ Is the pain made worse by movement or breathing?

Basic First Aid Skills to learn:

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 ◦ Bandaging (Elastic/Triangular bandage, improvised functional equipment)
◦ burns/eyes/wound care
◦ splinting
◦ carries and drags
◦ CPR
◦ Triaging
◦ communication

Basic Life Support (BLS) - Is a level of medical care which is used for patients with life-
threatening illnesses or injuries until they can be given full medical care by advanced
life support providers (paramedics, nurses, physicians). It can be provided by trained
medical personnel, such as emergency medical technicians, and by qualified
bystanders.

◦ They share the same principle of First Aids’ “Do’s and Don’t s”, Primary and
Secondary Surveys, just in a strict manner of implementation. “BLS” deals with with
life-threatening situations with an AED (Automated External Difebrillator) if
available, compared to first aid where it usually deals with minor health problems.
Should it complicate, then it applies the 6 Principles represented by the “Star of
Life”.

CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

◦ It is an emergency life-saving procedure that is done when someone's breathing
or heartbeat has stopped. This may happen after a medical emergency, such as
an electric shock, heart attack, or drowning. CPR combines rescue breathing and
chest compressions.

Giving CPR
Note: Time is of the essence; be mindful when the patient had lost his ABC. 5 minutes without
ABC will lead to brain damage.

CHECK the scene for safety, form an initial impression and use personal protective
equipment (PPE)

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 If the person appears unresponsive, CHECK for responsiveness, breathing, life-
threatening bleeding or other life-threatening conditions using shout-tap-shout
If the person does not respond and is not breathing or only gasping, CALL 9-1-1 and
get equipment, or tell someone to do so
Kneel beside the person. Place the person on their back on a firm, flat surface
Give 30 chest compressions
Hand position: Two hands centered on the chest. 1 hand operation for kids. Middle
and ring finger for infants.
Body position: Shoulders directly over hands; elbows locked
Depth: At least 2 inches(adults) 1 ½ inches (kids), ½ in (infants)
Rate: 100 to 120 per minute
Allow chest to return to normal position after each compression
Give 2 rescue breaths
Open the airway to a past-neutral position using the head-tilt/chin-lift technique.
Mouth and Nose technique for infants.
Pinch the nose shut, take a normal breath, and make complete seal over the person’s
mouth with your mouth.
Ensure each breath lasts about 1 second and makes the chest rise; allow air to exit
before giving the next breath
Check for signs of breathing and pulse after 2 rescue breaths for 5 seconds.

Note: If the 1st breath does not cause the chest to rise, retile the head and ensure a
proper seal before giving the 2nd breath If the 2nd breath does not make the chest rise, an
object may be blocking the airway
Continue giving sets of 30 chest compressions and 2 rescue breaths. Use an AED as
soon as one is available! Minimize interruptions to chest compressions to less than
10 seconds until patient recovers.

Once the patient has recovered, place him into a recovery position.

When not to apply CPR:

In a case of Rigor Mortice

Existing chest and or rib fractures
Untreated bleeding on torso of a patient

When to stop a CPR procedure:

when patient shows signs of life
someone more qualified to take over
responder is exausted
patient showing no response after multiple cycles

❖ Search and Rescue (Water, Earthquake, Landslide and Fire)

▪ Search and rescue, often known by the acronym SAR, is the process of
identifying the location of disaster victims who may be trapped or isolated, and
bringing them to safety and providing them with medical attention after a
disaster strikes. Rescue on the other hand can be performed on both post and
on-going disaster.

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 ▪ Upon performing SAR whether natural or human-induced disaster, the proper
equipment is to be the biggest consideration to perform the proper task at
hand. Makeshift materials is also crucial in case of unavailability of equipment
to use.

▪ Constant training and practice is essential for SAR personnel for familiarization.
Improvisation on techniques and equipment also plays a big part during SAR,
since not all that could be needed will be available on site. This training's will
not only benefit the personnel but also the people they educate as part of their
advocacy for disaster resiliency.

Necessary Equipment for SAR:

◦ Transportation and other mechanized equipment
◦ Manual/Hydraulic/Electric tools and lights
◦ Rope and carabiner
◦ Splints, spine boards and harnesses
◦ Personal protective equipment
◦ Gas mask, oxygen tank, fire and water gears
◦ Radio and other communication devices, whistle, GPS
Necessary Skills:
◦ Rope work (knots and ties)
◦ Swimming/Water safety ability
◦ Climbing and rappelling
◦ Fire safety knowledge
◦ Extrication skills
◦ First aid and BLS or advanced capabilities

Topic 6: Resilience

Disaster Resiliency

◦ Disaster resilience is the ability of individuals, communities, organizations and

states to adapt to and recover from hazards, shocks or stresses without
compromising long-term prospects for development. According to the Hyogo
Framework for Action (UNISDR, 2005), disaster resilience is determined by the
degree to which individuals, communities and public and private organizations are
capable of organizing themselves to learn from past disasters and reduce their risks
to future ones, at international, regional, national and local levels.

Core Elements of Disaster Resilience

◦ Context – “who” helps and manage and “to who” do we offer services to.
◦ Disturbance – what kind of natural or human-induced events are we aiming for
resiliency.
◦ Capacity to Respond – ability to deal with the magnitude of disaster and its
capability to adjust to it.
◦ Reaction – a range of possible responses from the degree of damages, example: a
more reduced reaction to hazard exposures, a more enhanced system to deal with
future disaster or a collapse as a worse case scenario, with a minimal capacity to
cope up.

Assessment

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 Topics under this section fundamentally correlates to one another on having the same
goal of helping and saving lives. Having gone through the subject matter of Disaster
Awareness, Preparedness, Management and Resiliency, all comes down to
“Adaptation”.

For what is it for that we gather all this information from the previous and most recent
calamities that our country has faced, if we haven’t learned to develop the initiative to
minimize if not prevent these hazards from affecting everyone. It is always favorable to be
prepared yet it’s even better to prevent these hazards from inflicting damages to our
livelihood, resources, establishments, and even the lives of our fellowmen. We thrive to
ensure that in the future basing on the trends, we’ll not just be prepared but ready to face it
head-on strategically.

References

National Disaster Risk Reduction Plan (2011-2028)

Community Based Disaster Risk Management
Philippine National Red Cross
American Heart institute 2018
St. John Ambulance 2023
Institute of Development Studies

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