Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office- Aklan

According to this Act, each province is responsible for its own disaster risk reduction and management, and for building the resilience of its communities to disasters including the impacts of climate change. The importance of this act was never more clear than during the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Since then, the office has redoubled its efforts to ensure the community is prepared for any other hazards or disasters. We facilitate community training such as flood and earthquake drills, first aid, basic search and rescue, Incident command systems for Local Government units, Multi-agency drills, and education on the effects of natural hazards and disaster preparedness. We visit schools, hospitals and local agencies to assist them with hazard identification and risk management. We are also responsible for responding to emergencies and accidents as they occur. Our first responders are trained in swift water rescue, water search and rescue, urban search and rescue, high angle rescue, basic life support and Rapid damage assessment and needs analysis. Our office is operational 24/7 so our staff is divided into 3 shifts of 8 hours each. We are equipped with emergency vehicles, extrication devices, aerial survey drones, rubber and fiberglass boats for water search and rescue. We spend every day working on improving and reviewing plans for potential disaster events, as well as improving the response capabilities of our staff. Our vision is for "A prepared, equipped and vigilant Aklanon that is resilient to natural and human induced hazards or disasters."