CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM

Introduction
Disaster preparedness is the still the best intervention we can rely
on at the time of need or at the time of a natural calamity occurring and
devastating the countrys state. When we are prepared for natural
calamities such as typhoon and storm surge, we are actually decreasing
the death rate or the possible casualties that could occur. This may seem
exaggerating the idea of decreasing the possible casualties when there is
an ongoing natural calamity. But it is true, if a lot of people are actually
prepared for the occurrence of a natural calamity a lot of lives could be
saved by helping and working together as one. A country or a city that is
prepared for what is about to come, can make a difference when there is a
natural calamity on going.
A chance for them having casualties like the death of more than a
thousand of people when typhoon Yolanda, Ondoy or Sendong hit the
country could be reduced by fifty percent or more if they were prepared for
a natural calamity. Reducing the mortality rate of people during a typhoon
is greatly influenced by the knowledge they have and the emergency
measures they can perform. The performance of the people during a
typhoon is greatly influence on how well they know the status and the
effective measures or interventions for their current situation. Helping
others in the occurrence of a natural calamity, increasing the chance of

having a zero casualty if the people know what to do in the event of a

natural disaster. The destructive power of a typhoon cannot be thoroughly
measured because there are times on which it can grow stronger or
weaker as time passes by. Every citizen is considered not safe in the
event of a typhoon whether they are strong enough to walk, to provide
care for others, or help other in emergency situation.
The age of someone does not guarantee their safety whether their
age is around 60-45, 44- 30, 29-15 or 14 below. Their physical state is
contributing factor to the possibility of them being harmed or at risk for
further injuries. No one is safe unless they know what they are about
conquer or face. Having the knowledge to give first aid is big help in the
event of a disaster such as a typhoon due to a lot of possibilities of people
being harmed by the natures wrath. One of the possible harm that could
be something like being impaled by a wood, or something sharp during the
disaster.

When we are prepared for something we may have less

mistakes or casualties along the way but when we are not, a lot of
casualties could arise one after another leading to some debilitating state
or worse death.
A natural disaster such as a typhoon could cause surgical and
medical emergencies. Disasters have massive human and economic
costs. They may cause many deaths, severe injuries, and food shortages.
Most incidents of severe injuries and deaths occur during the time of
impact, where disease outbreaks and food shortages often arise much

later, depending on the nature and duration of the disaster. On a hospital a

lot of patients could die just because of not having electricity and water,
there could be a scarcity of medications because some of the deliveries
were not able to make it on time due to heavy rains, broken bridges, and
floods. Some pharmacies would not open and sale their goods or some
would have actually suffered the damage on their goods due to the
typhoon.
Anticipating the potential consequences of disasters can help
determine the actions that are needed to be started before the disaster
strikes, in order to minimize its effects and be able to save lives. During a
typhoon on a Barangay near the sea with the primary source of income is
fishing, there is a presence of scarcity of food, electricity and
communication. If there are response teams who are actually capable of
saving lives with the use of medical knowledge and experiences some
problems in a community can be solved. Decreasing the mortality rate
during a typhoon by these measures, caring for the injured who cannot be
brought to the hospital due the typhoon.
On average, eight or nine tropical storms make landfall in the
Philippines each year, with another 10 entering Philippine waters. A total
average of 20 typhoon per year. Being situated in a vast expanse of warm
ocean water on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is the
most exposed country in the world to tropical storms. With more than
7,000 islands, the coastline is vulnerable to storm surges. (Brown, 2013)

In the Philippines, we are struggling hard every year to fight such

natural calamities like typhoons and flash floods that often resulted
medical disaster and emergencies leading to failure and bring a high
average of death and destruction to mankind.
This study could help nurses in the community attain information
necessary for the preparations needed in the event of a typhoon and
storm surge by assessing the affected coastal barangay about their
possible need of medical assistance in the event of casualties.
Disseminating information about the preparations and precaution needed
by the residents of the coastal barangay.
In the nursing practice disaster preparedness is a need we try to
achieve by foreseeing the possible casualties in a certain place,
particularly in this study a coastal barangay where a storm surge could
occur in the event of a typhoon. We try to prepare the possible medical
supplies and emergency equipment to be used to rescue or give aid to the
stranded, debilitated or injured residents. As nurses it is not exactly our job
to rescue affected resident during a disaster to save lives, but if there is no
other choice we must be able to at least to do simple rescue scenarios.
What we commonly do is tend to their needs to alleviate their pain and
suffering when they injured or incapacitated. As far as prevention is a
concern preventing the possible harm and its possible contributing factors
to casualties could decrease the need for medical assistance therefore
decreasing the casualties in a certain area.

This study is in accordance with the mandate of Republic Act No.

10121 also known

as "Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and

Management Act of 2010". On the section 11 of the said Act, it states that
there shall be City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. The
council is mandated to approve, monitor, and evaluate the implementation
of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plans and
regularly review and test the plan consistent with other national and local
planning programs; ensure the integration of disaster risk and climate
change adaptation into local development plans, programs and budgets
as strategy in sustainable development and poverty reduction (Philippine
Senate, 2010).

The result of this study might be use as a basis for the increasing
the status of the disaster preparedness in the stated community, as well
as helping the people to be more aware to the provisions of Republic Act
no. 10121 of 2010 and increasing their capacity to help not only
themselves but also the others. The study uses the theory of structuralism
showing on how the community seems to depict these parts of community
as "organs" that work toward the proper functioning of the "body" as a
whole improving the disaster preparedness and mitigating the effects of a
natural disaster. The study may reveal some points of weakness in the
part of the community but this may be strengthen by the recommendations
that can be proposed to the community to improve the disaster

preparedness of Barangay Bagasbas Daet, Camarines Norte. Barangay

Bagasbas is a Barangay of the Philippine municipality Daet in the
province Camarines Norte in Bicol Region which is part of the Luzon
group of islands. The local is close to sea, and their primary source of
income is fishing. It is a local prone to be hit with a typhoon every year.
The purpose of this study is to assess and increase the
preparedness of the stated Barangay in the event of a typhoon and storm
surge.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to evaluate the disaster preparedness of Barangay
Bagasbas Daet, Camarines Norte. Specifically it will answer the following
problems:
1. What is the profile of Barangay Bagasbas as to:
a. Geography
b. Population
c. Educational attainment of the residents
d. Occupation of the residents
e. Age
2. How does the residents of Barangay bagasbas prepare during?
a. Typhoon
b. Storm surge
3. What are the common problems that the respondents encounter in
preparing for a disaster?
4. What protocol maybe recommended to strengthen the disaster
awareness and preparedness of Barangay Bagasbas?

Assumptions of the study

This study was based on the following assumptions:
1. The profile of the respondents varies
2. The residents of the community showed different experiences and
comments about disaster preparedness.
3. Measures can be proposed to enhance the disaster preparedness
of Barangay bagasbas.

Scope and Delimitation

This study will be conducted at Barangay Bagasbas Daet,
Camarines Norte, specifically Purok 5 and 6. There will be two groups of
respondents. The first group will compose of all the elected officials of the
stated Barangay and all the Purok officials of 5 and 6. The second group
will consist of adult residents aging from 20- 50 years old of purok 5 and 6,
they will be selected using purposive sampling with 20 respondents from
each of the stated purok a total of 40 respondents. Only those who have
been residing in the stated locale for at least five year will be included.
This will be conducted from June to September of the year 2015.
Data will be gathered using researcher made questionnaire this will be
supported by an unstructured interview to the respondents. The Analysis
and interpretation of data will use descriptive statistics such as frequency,
percentage and mean. It aims to come up with a protocol to strengthen the

disaster preparedness of Barangay Bagasbas in the event of a typhoon

and storm surge on the stated Barangay as its output.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study could be significant to the following:
Community. The results of this study could help them make their
community prepared for natural disaster such as typhoon and storm
surge. It could help them create a plan of action when there is a typhoon
signal on their Barangay. The community members can be a look out for
each other for the benefit of safety of their neighbors and themselves.
Barangay Officials. The results of this study could help them tract
if there are still people who are in danger during a typhoon. They can
easily identify the situation and disseminate information about the current
situation of their Barangay even in the absence of mass media
dissemination of information. The results of this can help them in the
formulation of an action plan in the event of a typhoon and storm surge.
Nursing students. The results of this study could help them
become aware and prepared of what to do and how to do in the event of a
typhoon and storm surge. This could also help increase their knowledge
about typhoon and storm surge. This can be used as a reference for future
guide in sharing knowledge about disaster preparedness.
Academe. This will serve as a reference to those who want to
conduct a study about disaster preparedness and awareness of a
particular place or city. It can be used as a reference for teaching students
about what intervention to be done in the event of a natural disaster such
as typhoon and storm surge. This study may be use as a source of
example for emergency nursing.

Future Researcher. This will serve as a reference to those who

want to conduct research related to this field. It can provide empirical data
for future similar researches. This could help them solve future problems
that may be encounter in their research.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined according to their operational use
in the conduct of the study:
Typhoon. This refers to natural disasters that comes with strong winds
and rains

Storm surge. The increase in height and depth of water level in a

given area during a typhoon.
Disaster Preparedness. This refers to preventive measures that should
be undertaken before a typhoon occur and the feasibility of such policies
to the citizens.
Protocol. This refers to a detailed plan that may be followed when there is
the presence of a natural disaster such as typhoon and storm surge in the
stated barangay.

NOTES
L. Sena, and W.M. Kifle, (2006), EPHTI, DISASTER PREVENTION
AND PREPAREDNESS. Accessed on December 17, 2014 from
http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/health/ephti/library/lecture_note
s/health_extension_trainees/DisasterPreventionPreparedness.pdf

S. Brown, (2013), The Philippines Is the Most Storm-Exposed

Country on Earth accessed on February 20, 2015 from
http://world.time.com/2013/11/11/the-philippines-is-the-most-stormexposed-country-on-earth/

Philippine Senate, (2010), Republic act no. 10121 of 2010, Official

Gazette,
accessed
on
February
20,
2015
fromhttp://www.gov.ph/2010/05/27/republic-act-no-10121/