An estimated 48,000 people, including many children, living in Metro Manila and Calabarzon area will be killed should the West Valley fault line move and cause a 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

Dr. Renato Solidum, Jr., Undersecretary for Disaster Risk Reduction of the Department of Science and Technology, made the prognosis during the Emergency Preparedness Forum of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) held at the SMX recently.

It is for this reason, Solidum said, that continuing education and preparation on disaster management should be carried out in all levels, especially those in the most vulnerable groups.

He added that “disaster imagination” is also crucial to bring about people’s resolve to prepare for any disaster.

“We need to develop disaster imagination so that we can adequately prepare. We need to imagine the scenarios, what will happen to us in cases of emergencies like an earthquake so that we can plan and prepare accordingly. Unless we can imagine and unless we feel fear of what can happen to us, we will not act to prepare for any disaster,” he said.

On the other hand, survival expert Dr. Ted Esguerra from the International Disaster Response Network gave tips and on-the-spot demonstrations on how children with disabilities (CWD) can cope in times of emergencies.

This is because an estimated 5.1 million Filipino children with disabilities are the most vulnerable in every calamity or emergency that may strike the country.

Lotta Sylwander, country representative of UNICEF, pointed out that in every emergency, 50 to 60 percent of those who are most affected are children because of their many limitations and they may lose their lives since they cannot get away from the impending danger.

Because they are not capable compared to normal people they get malnourished during a protracted emergency and get unhealthy from poor water and sanitation conditions.

They are also unable to access schooling and that psycho-social stress is also a serious factor for children in any emergency, Sylwander said at the forum organized by SM Cares to support the most vulnerable groups like the PWD become more resilient and prepared in times of disasters.

For a country that is visited by calamities and disasters every year, disaster preparedness should be a way of life for every Filipino, Esguerra said.

Hundreds of CWD and their parents, members of PWD organizations and learning institutions and representatives from the Office of the Civil Defense, Metro Manila Development Authority and security personnel of SM Supermalls also attended the event.

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