11 May 2006 — Consul General Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, USA reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Consulate hosted on 29 April 2006 a briefing by the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter on disaster preparedness for leaders of Filipino American communities.

 “We want to be prepared in case tragedy comes our way that is why we want our Filipino-American community to be briefed properly on what should be done in the event of a disaster. The briefing is part of the plan to actively involve our community members in preparing for all types of emergency situations, including earthquakes,” Consul General Sanchez said.

The Consul General said that the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter’s intention is to gather organizations and leaders in the public and private sectors together “to plan and execute the most extensive community preparedness campaign ever developed.”

As part of the Prepare Bay Area (PBA) campaign to inform communities of disaster-preventative and disaster-preparedness measures, the current mission of the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter  is to reach one million Bay Area residents with a concentrated effort on vulnerable populations.   PBA will guide Bay Area residents in this process to ‘Make a Plan,’ ‘Build a Kit,’ and ‘Get Trained’ for disasters and other unexpected events.

Mr. Harris Bostic II, Director of the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, said that “a disaster plan crafted together with family and loved ones will enable each member to be informed and could prevent and mitigate future damage in the event that disaster strikes.”

He added that “these could be as simple as deciding upon a meeting place after a disaster or emergency; having an out of state contact; providing readily available emergency numbers for fire, police, and hospital information.”

“It is also alarming that only about 10% of households have disaster plans,” he said.

Consul General Sanchez explained that the second component is to build emergency kits in various places for the home, for the office, or for the car. According to Mr. Bostic, basic services such as food, water, and electricity may not be readily available for days or even weeks.

The Consul General stated “once this plan is in place, it would be easier to mitigate the damage caused by a disaster. The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco appreciates the assistance of Mr. Harris Bostic II and the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter and the participation of our community leaders in this important activity.  We look forward to working with them in the future.”

The Department’s records show there are 1,348,251 Filipino-Americans in San Francisco as of December 2005. END