IPO Survey Reveals Strong Public Confidence in Davao City’s Disaster Readiness

Davao City, Philippines - The University of Mindanao – Institute of Popular Opinion (UM-IPO) conducted an online survey from April 8–21, 2025, to assess Dabawenyos’ perception of Davao City’s disaster response readiness amid the impacts of climate change. The survey gathered responses from 1,200 residents across the city’s three districts using targeted Meta platform advertisements, ensuring a 95% confidence level and a 3% margin of error.

Results show that Davao City is perceived to be most ready for earthquakes, with 46.3% of respondents stating the City is “very ready” and another 43.3% saying it is “somewhat ready.” High confidence was also noted for flood and typhoon preparedness, with 40.3% and 44.8% of respondents, respectively, rating the City as “very ready.” However, readiness perceptions declined for threats such as volcanic activity and drought/ heat waves, where only 26.9% and 29.9% viewed the City as “very ready,” respectively. This suggests a perceived vulnerability in the face of less frequent but potentially devastating events.

In terms of the operational capacity, the disaster response team is viewed positively, particularly in terms of human resources, where 61.2% believe the City has a “very ready” workforce capable of quick response. Equipment availability and transport vehicles were also rated favorably, with over 44% of respondents indicating high levels of readiness. Additionally, 64.2% of respondents believe that overall, the City`s disaster response team is “very ready” for any major disaster, reflecting public confidence in institutional disaster preparedness. The city also received strong ratings for communication and coordination, with 64.2% finding them “very effective,” and 59.7% saying evacuation centers are adequately prepared.

The effectiveness of communication and coordination between the disaster response team and the community received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with 64.2% rating as “very effective.” Evacuation centers also scored well, with nearly 60% of respondents considering them adequately prepared to handle displaced populations.

Generally, 64.2% of the respondents expressed strong confidence in Davao City`s disaster response team, rating it as “very ready,” while 34.3% felt it is “somewhat ready,” and only a marginal of 1.5% believed the City is not ready for any major disaster.

As to who is/are expected to take immediate response and attention to their needs in times of disasters, 37.53% of the respondents expected that the first to take immediate action are the barangay officials, followed by the Local Chief Executive, as reflected from the 28.23% response rate. 22.56% of the respondents believed that 911 should take the immediate response, 8.25% of the respondents believed that city officials should also take immediate response, followed by DSWD (3.43%) and other agencies (0.56%).

Overall, the findings reflect a positive public perception of Davao City’s disaster readiness while highlighting the need to strengthen preparedness for less frequent but high-impact hazards such as droughts and volcanic activity.