Around the University TownCampus NewsSU presents mitigation measures on Ocoy flooding

SU presents mitigation measures on Ocoy flooding

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Silliman University researchers working on a multi-disciplinary project the past two years have recommended disaster mitigation measures to local government units to help them build more resilient riverside communities.

Silliman President Dr. Betty Cernol-McCann formally presented to Valencia Mayor Edgar Teves, Sibulan Vice Mayor Marcela Bartoces, and to Dumaguete HR Officer Dr. Dinno Depositario the recommendations culled from the project titled A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Settlement Behavior and Resilience of Households & Businesses along Ocoy River.

The project involved developing and applying inter-disciplinary tools to help build communities that are highly adaptable to changes in the environment.

The recommendations from Silliman ranged from flood control, disaster mitigation measures, preparedness, hazard maps, a web portal and mobile application as part of an early warning system, and an incident command system, to post-disaster recovery.

“The University is committed to supporting the efforts of Dumaguete, Sibulan, and Valencia in disaster risk-reduction and climate change adaptation,” said Dr. McCann, expressing hope that the key findings and recommendations will be adopted so they can benefit from the capacity-building activities.

The project, supported by the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation & Disaster Risk Management Foundation Inc., involved researchers from multiple fields, with the goal of making households and businesses along the Ocoy River more resilient to floods.

Ocoy River, which runs through Valencia, Dumaguete, and Sibulan, has a history of catastrophic floods that have wreaked havoc on homes, businesses, and farms, resulting in a number of deaths, injuries, and loss of property and livelihood. Despite the dangers, people continue to build their homes along the riverbanks.

“Climate change will increase the likelihood of destructive typhoons and the frequency of heavy downpours, which for the communities along Ocoy River would mean more exposure to dangerous floods,” explained project leader Dr. Jorge Emmanuel from Silliman’s Institute of Environmental & Marine Sciences, and the College of Engineering & Design.

To address this problem, the project pulled together multiple disciplines — sociology/anthropology, chemistry/biology, geophysical science/engineering, and computer studies.

“The project demonstrates the value of an inter-disciplinary approach to tackling urgent problems,” said anthropologist Dr. Enrique Oracion, one of the project team leaders, and the University’s director of Research.

Among the tools developed by Dr. Oracion’s team were social survey questionnaires to understand the perceptions and “sense of place” of residents and businesses. The concept of “sense of place” provides insight into why people remain in an area despite perceived high risks, and can guide policymakers on climate adaptive resettlement.

Another team headed by biologist Dr. Robert Guino-o helped train communities on sampling of the water on Ocoy River. During the dry season, his group found that the dumping of human and animal waste into the river resulted in high levels of coliform bacteria that could spread during floods. His team facilitated the training of community leaders in First Aid/Basic Life Support, and recommended a program of training for at-risk communities to increase the chances of survival of people injured by floods.

Dr. Emmanuel’s team developed models of the Ocoy River Basin using open-source software. The models were used to determine areas of high flood risk. They reviewed the latest engineering design recommendations for flood control structures, and suggested a reach-by-reach assessment of the river to determine the most appropriate hard control measures. They also recommended non-structural measures such as increased forest protection, reforestation, bioengineering approaches (such as the planting of bamboo and vetiver grass along river banks), and the possible use of flood retention basins upstream.

The task of compiling and visualizing the data was assigned to the team of Dr. Dave Marcial, dean of Computer Studies. His group developed a web portal and database, and provided training to the LGUs on the use of the software to access visualized data and flood hazard maps.

“We are introducing a new application called Siren, developed by our students,” announced Dr Marcial. He said Siren has an information board, early warning, and incident reporting system. This new web and mobile app could be part of an enhanced early warning system for use by the Province.

The project worked closely with the City’s Disaster Risk-Reduction & -Management officers, and held numerous consultations with residents, businesses, barangay officials, and other stakeholders to come up with a set of recommendations, which were subsequently discussed with city and municipal officials, Sanggunian members, as well as provincial officials. (SU/OIP)

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