Disaster Awareness and Preparedness of Barrio Community in Zambales, Philippines: Creating a Baseline for Curricular Integration and Extension Program

The social, biological and economic cost of natural disasters have increased in recent years due to skyrocketing population growth, environmental denudation and global climate change. This cross-sectional descriptive survey research determines the extent of disaster awareness and preparedness of the barrio or barangay community from the five southern municipalities of Zambales, Philippines. A total of 480 residents responded to the study. Results revealed that a majority of respondents were moderately aware about the different disasters occurring in the community. They are very aware about a typhoon whilst being moderately aware about a tsunami and storm surge. In terms of hazard level, respondents perceived a typhoon to be ‘very destructive’, whilst they understood a tsunami and storm surge to be ‘strong’. The barrio community often practice disaster preparedness for earthquakes, strong typhoons, landslides, fire, flood and volcanic eruptions. Amongst residents of the barrios, a moderate correlation exists (r=0.449) between their levels of disaster awareness and disaster preparedness. The results of this study provide a baseline information to use in decisions about the integration of disaster science and management in the curriculum at basic and higher education levels. Moreover, the results of this study also provided insights into the crafting of a community extension program to be spearheaded by the university. Such a program accentuates the need for massive dissemination of information about disasters for local communities so they become more aware about the causes and consequences of disasters. The proposed curriculum integration and extension program may inform practitioners and policy makers in making sound decisions regarding disaster risk reduction and mitigation strategies.