BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) will require hospitals, hotels and other business establishments to put up an emergency evacuation area as preparation in case an earthquake hits the city.
Executive Assistant Joemarie Vargas, cluster head of CDRRMO said he will meet with the safety officers of the hotels, hospitals and business establishments here next week to discuss the need of putting up an emergency evacuation area.
“We would require business establishments that accommodate many people to put up an emergency evacuation area. We will help them,” he said.
Vargas expressed concern on the hotels to have a separate evacuation area for the foreign tourists during earthquake.
“We need to know the evacuation area of the hotels because there are tourists there. There is a different treatment between local people and foreign tourists,” he said.
Vargas said all their concerns will be addressed in a series of meetings.
He added that hospitals in the city will be evaluated in their capacity to handle earthquake-related injuries.
“We have seen the damage of the recent earthquake in Mindanao, so we must be ready here,” said Vargas.
In October, a series of earthquakes hit Mindanao that killed at least 22 people and caused over P1 billion damage to property.
