Heed weather warnings and stay safe

Editorial

THIS week the weather office has again sounded warnings of a possible cyclone hitting the country and chances of landslides in the highlands.
The warnings should be taken seriously. That means people must exercise care during the current rainy weather.
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 stakeholders, more effort has been put in for 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 disaster areas.
More often than not the amount of time the office takes to mobilise help and get to people who need help the most is invaluable.
Natural disasters are inevitable – whether it is flooding, volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But advanced preparation is important.
In the past, managing disaster situations has always been a reactive response where we move into action after a disaster has struck.
While natural disasters are unpredictable, in essence, it is more cost-effective to be prepared to save lives and property than to deal with its aftermath.
Communication and coordination are very important.
With the weather warnings out, disaster-management officers should be ready to tackle hardships when disaster strikes. They must be prepared before the disaster, during and afterwards.
They should be reinforcing the warning to seafarers to be vigilant when traveling. Those on lower grounds next to rivers should be watching the water level; those on coastlines should be securing their house.
Everyone should stock up with food supplies in anticipation of shortages.
Disasters not only cost lives, they also have a severe socio-economic impact on the country.
If the agency tasked with handling these emergency situations is under-funded and under-equipped, more people will 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 and evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the immediate restoration of infrastructure.
Papua New Guinea depends a lot on outside help, especially from Australia, to manage its disaster situations.
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.