More can’t hurt much.
“The Manila City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) said the city needs to buy more lifesaving equipment and tools to ensure that rescuers would be able to function and save more lives during calamities,” reports Nathaniel R. Melican in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The report noted: “On Tuesday, July 8, during the city’s first citywide multi-disaster drill main program on Roxas Boulevard, the Manila government showcased its rescue tools and equipment such as rescue vans, fire trucks and hazardous materials (hazmat) suits.”
However Johnny Yu, head of the CDRRMO, said that “despite this, Manila’s stockpile of rescue tools and equipment was inadequate.”
Yu was quoted as saying, “If we’re talking about training, we are 100 percent sure that responders are well trained. From first aid to hazmat training, they all have it under their belt.”
Yu added, “But in terms of quantity, we need more. We have 3.5-million residents in six districts and, right now, the equipment we have can be used only for training. For example, we have a rescue van but there is just one.”
The report revealed though that this year, the Manila City government was allocating PHP76 million for the purchase of rescue equipment.
Photo from MorgueFile
