ArchivesJune 2012Bracing for typhoon season

Bracing for typhoon season

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Wireless services provider Smart Communications Inc. and Corporate Network for Disaster Response recently met with local government officials of Dumaguete City to boost their disaster readiness in the coming typhoon season.

A Contingency Planning Workshop was conducted by Smart and CNDR for Dumaguete officials in Legazpi City, Albay. The workshop is part of Smart’s campaign to assist typhoon and flood —prone communities in developing disaster preparedness plans and conducting emergency response measures in times of natural calamities.

Dumaguete’s city and barangay officials together with officers from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council were trained by the disaster risk management officers of Albay, considered one of the provinces in the country with the most advanced disaster preparedness strategies.

“With recent reports showing that the Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in Asia, we must intensify our campaign for preparedness, starting at the barangay level,” said Ramon Isberto, head of Smart Public Affairs. “This initiative aims to empower barangay captains to have a systematic approach in dealing with disasters – from preparation, response to recovery.”

Some of the points emphasized during the training were the importance of Early Warning Systems such as rain gauges and water-level sensors, communication protocols in times of natural disasters, and proper evacuation procedures .

“Having the knowledge and equipment to deal with natural disasters is key in ensuring the safety of our constituents’ lives,” said Dr. Cedric Daep, chief officer of Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office and technical consultant of CNDR. “We hope the Philippines can move from being called the most disaster-prone to the most disaster-prepared country.”

Joe Chu Jr., a representative of the CDRRMC of Dumaguete, said typhoon Sendong which struck Visayas and Mindanao last year made them realize the value of disaster preparedness.

“The Sendong incident, which was followed by an earthquake in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental was an eye-opening event for all of us,” said Chu. “We learned that Dumaguete is not really untouchable by calamities. We felt the trauma of two natural disasters that were months apart.”

Smart and CNDR recently have conducted similar disaster preparedness activities in selected barangays of Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Marikina.

The telco is also at the forefront of other disaster preparedness and mitigation initiatives such as the use of its Infoboard web-SMS community messaging system to manage communications in times of disasters and reforestation and rehabilitation of various forests, watersheds and mangrove areas.

It is also currently working with the Department of Science & Technology, and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration in a massive project to develop a fully connected weather monitoring and flood forecasting system by agreeing to install 600 rain gauges in its cellsites nationwide. (PR)

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