Flood Awareness and Preparedness of Residents in Barangay 343 A.H. Lacson Street, Sta. Cruz Manila

Abstract

This quantitative-descriptive design study aimed to determine the overall strength of awareness and preparedness of the residents in Barangay 343 A.H. Lacson Street, Sta. Cruz Manila in response to the flood. This is a community that has been frequently affected by flood during the rainy season due to its geographical location, wherein the land elevation was approximately close to the sea level and its topographical location, wherein the features of the area were identified as a densely populated community. Although the land elevation in the City of Manila was slightly higher than the sea level, the difference was minimal. Thus, when the rainy season approaches, the community becomes vulnerable to flood. This condition led to flooding caused by excessive stagnant water that could no longer be absorbed by the land. Two modified standardized questionnaires developed by Talplacido et al. (2022) and Maminta (2019) were utilized and distributed to 185 heads of the families aged 18 to 60 years old and above in the community through a stratified random sampling method, and the data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman's rho correlations. Results revealed that the respondents have a strong level of awareness indicating 53.6% are quite aware with regards to the things that must be observed and done when a flood occurs, which indicated a strong level of awareness. On the other hand, the respondents' preparedness in response to the flood accounted for 52.3% indicating a quite prepared community engagement.  Moreover, Spearman's rho correlations identified that there is a significant relationship obtained between flood awareness and preparedness of the respondents; however, it represents a weak positive correlation between these two dependent variables. Thus, awareness and preparedness should be given equal importance in response to a flood to ensure their safety. The findings in this study emphasized the importance of enhanced community-based campaigns, active community engagement in flood drills, and community-led disaster-preparedness programs to build a resilient community.