Typhoons and earthquakes in the philippines
In the Philippine setting, an average of 8 to 9 tropical storms performs their landfall. These storms can give major casualties to the lives of the Filipinos and one of the strongest super typhoon to have ever recorded affected the Philippines to a greater extent with death casualties of 6241 and property damages of about 86.9 billion pesos and this was the typhoon Yolanda. Another natural disaster which had greater negative effects to the people are earthquakes and on February 6 of 2012, an earthquake with magnitude of 6.7 affected the lives of the people in the Visayas with casualties of 51 deaths, 112 injured and 62 missing people. Another earthquake with a bigger magnitude (7.2) and is considered the deadliest earthquake in 23 years resulted to casualties of 222 deaths, 8 missing, and 976 injured people/
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These natural disasters affected the lives of the people by presenting a change that a lot of may not be able to take in and these disasters cannot be avoided and it is one sad fact that we may experience them again and again. However, we can create programs that will help the citizens prepare when these problems arise and so that they will be able to cope with the stress associated after these disasters.
A TYPHOON AND EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN
Children can be easily affected by the harshness of natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. And there is much need to implement a program to help children and teach children what to do when these disasters arise and to prevent building up of stress. The program occurred in a local chapel in Sitio Sambag, Camputhaw, Cebu City. The children in this are have all experienced the annual typhoons, including Yolanda and the two great earthquakes that happened in the Visayas including its aftershocks. As you may notice, there are also little children in the program; the reason for this is that their older siblings are asked to baby sit them,which is common in the Philippine setting.
The therapy started with a meditation session in a form of prayer to help the children start the psychotherapy at ease. A child named Michael volunteered to lead the prayer with his personalized prayer followed by Our Father. After which, a breathing exercise was done and children closed their eyes and synchronized their breathing with the command of the facilitator. The facilitator then asked what they felt after the breathing exercise and in unison, the children answered "fine".
The therapy started with a meditation session in a form of prayer to help the children start the psychotherapy at ease. A child named Michael volunteered to lead the prayer with his personalized prayer followed by Our Father. After which, a breathing exercise was done and children closed their eyes and synchronized their breathing with the command of the facilitator. The facilitator then asked what they felt after the breathing exercise and in unison, the children answered "fine".
In the next part of the program, the facilitator introduced her name and added her favorite color and animal to make the program more interesting. Children did the same. Interesting enough, children are very good followers of rules when instructed correctly. There are times when children cannot help but make unnecessary noise so as a facilitator, the facilitator instructed the popular "1-2-3 ZIP!" and children are quick to chorus the phrase. To make sure that they stay in focus with the circle, reiterating the "1-2-3 ZIP!" is an effective strategy.
The group talk was now then initiated afterwards with a starting topic of if the children have experienced problems. Then facilitator asked who they go to when they have problems. Most of the respondents, answered family and some even went more specific such as their mother; however, a number of respondents have also stated that when they have problems, they don't tell it to their parents because they fear of "bunalan" which is to much of my surprise, is true in the Philippine setting. I therefore should comment the proper role of parents which is to be empathic listeners of their children and to hear the problems that these children can share to them so that these problems can be given support. As parents, it is their role to provide familial and social support to their children because one of the major risk factors of PTSD is the lack of social support. So, I suggest and promote the promulgation of Social Support programs and activities
The facilitator then asked who among these kids have experienced problems particularly about typhoons and earthquakes. Then again all of the respondents raised their hands and sharing of experiences and what they felt and did were exchanged and then. The facilitator then raised the points on what the children should when these problems might again. These included the "Duck, cover and hold" protocol which is a life saving device used by adults when an earthquake is happening and the facilitator taught them how to do it. As for the typhoons, children were instructed to stay at home when they see that dark skies are forming or they feel strong winds instead of playing in the rain because it could be dangerous to them. The children then agreed that they would do it.
The facilitator then asked who among these kids have experienced problems particularly about typhoons and earthquakes. Then again all of the respondents raised their hands and sharing of experiences and what they felt and did were exchanged and then. The facilitator then raised the points on what the children should when these problems might again. These included the "Duck, cover and hold" protocol which is a life saving device used by adults when an earthquake is happening and the facilitator taught them how to do it. As for the typhoons, children were instructed to stay at home when they see that dark skies are forming or they feel strong winds instead of playing in the rain because it could be dangerous to them. The children then agreed that they would do it.
Before the facilitator went to the next part of the program, children first sang songs to liven up the program and it also served as an ice breaker for children to be more engaging in the process.
When the songs are finished, they went outside the chapel because the place cannot accommodate for bigger movements and now, the children simulated the proper protocols of "Duck Cover and Hold."
When the songs are finished, they went outside the chapel because the place cannot accommodate for bigger movements and now, the children simulated the proper protocols of "Duck Cover and Hold."
After many tries perfecting the proper procedure, the children all went back to the chapel for the last part of the program which is to process the whole program and make sure that the children truly learned what the facilitator taught. Reactions were also gathered by the facilitator and children were glad to do the program once again.
Snack time is one of the most exciting parts of program and the chapel organization was kind enough to provide snacks not only for the respondents but also for the facilitator. Children, with their notebooks, wrote pointers on how the important parts of the program -- such as tips and the "Duck, Cover and Hold" which is written on a manila paper beside the songs used by children.
Snack time is one of the most exciting parts of program and the chapel organization was kind enough to provide snacks not only for the respondents but also for the facilitator. Children, with their notebooks, wrote pointers on how the important parts of the program -- such as tips and the "Duck, Cover and Hold" which is written on a manila paper beside the songs used by children.
References
- "TyphoonHaiyan - RW Updates". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. December 28, 2013. Philippines: Hundreds of corpses unburied after Philippine typhoon. Retrieved May 24, 2015.}
- Typhoon Haiyan death toll rises over 5,000 (Report). BBC. November 22, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- USGS Deaths From Earthquakes in 2012
and Management Council. November 3, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.