This paper is about how a community in the Mt. Pinatubo affected areas managed to survive in the midst of lahar threats through community-based approaches to disaster preparedness. It deals with the people’s capacity to take responsibility by monitoring hazards and issuing early warnings to save their communities from disaster. This paper emphasizes that early warning would be more effective if the threatened population is aware of the hazards they face and if community-based approaches in disaster preparedness are in place.