Improve disaster preparedness

THIS week, the weather office has sounded warnings of high seas in the New Guinea Island region on top of the high tide cautioning that is expected to continue throughout the wet season.
The warnings should be taken seriously.
That means people should exercise care during the current rainy weather that is being experienced in most parts of the country.
People should be alert to take appropriate action to overcome any situation quickly.
We all know that response to disaster in the country over the years has not been up to what was expected, but with the support of concerned stakeholders, more effort has been put into ensuring that there is a more coordinated and effective response.
It is common knowledge that the National Disaster and Emergency Office is hamstrung by a lack of logistical support and this hampers its capacity to provide relief and accident and emergency services to affected areas.
More often than not, the amount of time the office takes to mobilise help and get it to the place and people who need it the most is invaluable.
Natural disasters are inevitable – whether it is massive flooding, volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.
This is why advanced preparation is the key to overcoming natural disasters that has been predicted.
In the past, it has always been a reactive response – everyone reacts and responds after a disaster has struck.
While natural disasters are unpredicted, in essence, it is more cost-effective to be prepared than deal with damage, deaths and rebuilding.

Communication and coordination are very important to address all the related issues of natural disasters in and round the country.
Only then, will the channel of communication become clearer for everyone to know the procedures.
So with the weather warnings out, disaster officers should prepare beforehand in order to tackle hardships when disaster strikes.
They should be prepared before disaster a strikes, during and after any disaster.
They should be reinforcing the warning to seafarers to be vigilant when using the sea; those on lower grounds next to rivers should be watching the water level, those on the coastline should make sure roofing’s are secured and extra food.
Disasters not only cost lives, they have a severe socio-economic impact on the country as well.
If the agency tasked with handling these emergency situations is under-funded and under-equipped, then we can expect to see more people suffer.
It will be a significant undertaking for the government. If the disaster response capacity of every province is assessed, they may well be found wanting.
Disaster response is the second phase of the disaster management cycle.
The cycle consists of a number of elements such as warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the immediate restoration of infrastructure.
Papua New Guinea’s capacity to manage its disasters is reliant on outside help, particularly from Australia.
This country will continue to be at the mercy of nature and suffer major losses of life and property until it can build up its own capacity to meet those challenges.
Otherwise, the National Disaster Centre will only be managing when a disaster strikes.