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

Abstract

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 respondent s 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 destr uctive’,
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 modera te 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, it 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 an d mitigation strategies.