Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called on the public Tuesday to prepare for any natural disaster emergency amidst reports of a catastrophe that hit several Asian countries this week.
"As we continue to reach out to help in whatever way we can, we should also remember that this tragedy could also happen in our own shores, ours being the longest shoreline in the world," Arroyo said in a statement, referring to the massive tidal waves which hit eight Asian nations Sunday and reportedly killed over 26,000 people.
"We pray that it will never happen to our country, but we must be prepared," she said.
Likewise, Arroyo cited the need to modernize the country's forecasting system and link this up with international warning networks to avert a similar disaster.
"We must modernize our forecasting systems and link these up with international warning networks," she said.
"We must know the geophysical hazards around us and strengthen the capacity of our local government units and communities for mitigating loss of lives and property," she added.
At a press conference, the Philippine weather agency Tuesday said they will closely monitor the weather changes and try to upgrade the forecasting ability.
The world's biggest earthquake in 40 years triggered the wall of water up to 10 meters high that hit the coasts from India to Indonesia, flattening houses, hurling fishing boats onto roads, sending cars spinning through swirling waters into hotel lobbies and sucking sunbathers, babies and fishermen out to sea.
The Philippine government has announced that it is sending a small humanitarian contingent to where it is most needed in the tsunami-struck areas in southern Asia.