Caraga na! LGUs from the Caraga Attend Region-Wide GeoRiskPH Training
November 5, 2024
by: TEPadilla

Representatives from the provincial and municipal government units joined together for a region-wide training in the Caraga region on the use of GeoRiskPH applications. The training was held on November 5 to 6, 2024 at the Southville Hotel and Convention Center in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte. A total of 73 participants attended the training, representing different local government offices, including disaster risk reduction and management, planning and development, and engineering. The event was a collaboration between the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) and the Caraga Alliance of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers (CADRRMOs), Inc. to further enhance the Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) key efforts in Region XIII. The program opened with welcome remarks from the CADRRMOs President Mr. Armando Gomez, EMDRCM, from the Agusan del Norte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), and CADRRMOs Vice President of Internal Affairs Ms. Rosario Jra Alon, EMDRCM. from Dinagat Islands PDRRMO. In his speech, Mr. Gomez emphasized the significance of enhancing the capabilities of DRRMOs at the local level. Dr. Teresito C. Bacolcol, Director of DOST-PHIVOLCS, followed with the opening remarks, encouraging participants to learn actively and share their knowledge with their respective offices. Mr. Armando R. Gomez, CADRRMOs President, delivers his welcome remarks. To start the training proper, DOST-PHIVOLCS Science Research Specialist II, Mr. Conrado Alfonso Favis, introduced the GeoRiskPH Initiative to get a glimpse of the history of the project as well as the different GeoRiskPH applications. Other lectures were discussed during the first day, such as building the exposure database and building typology, sign-in and use of the GeoMapperPH web and mobile applications, and database management in GeoMapperPH. Mr. Nicole Jean Mercado, Science Research Specialist I, highlighted in his lecture on “Building Your Exposure Database and Building Typology” the importance of creating a comprehensive exposure database for effective disaster management and emphasized the need to ensure data quality. In their lectures on the web and mobile applications of GeoMapperPH, Project Science Research Specialists I of the GeoRiskPH Project Ms. Mara Joy Pancho and Mr. Kordell Almoneda gave demonstrations and hands-on activities for the participants to follow. Participants learned how to digitize and edit building footprints and fill out building attributes. Consequently, participants explored managing their locality’s database through the said application with a lecture and hands-on activity led by Project Science Research Specialist II, Ms. Catherine Rose Tatlonghari. The second day began with a lecture on earthquake and volcanic hazards by geologist Mr. Kordell Almoneda, who explained seismic and volcanic phenomena and highlighted common hazards in the region. HazardHunterPH and GeoAnalyticsPH were then introduced by Ms. Mara Pancho and Ms. Catherine Rose Tatlonghari, along with a few hands-on activities. In HazardHunter, participants generated their own automated hazard assessment through the application by choosing a location of their choice. GeoAnalyticsPH, meanwhile, showcased analytics of exposure data as participants input their chosen location and exposure type, including population, land area and critical facilities. Then, with the guidance of Mr. Nicole Jean Mercado, participants learned how to convert the geodatabase file taken from the GeoMapperPH web application into shapefile using QGIS. In the afternoon session, Mr. Conrado Alfonso Favis explained the 3Rs of a disaster and how the GeoRiskPH platforms can be effectively used in disaster readiness, response and recovery. Participants were then grouped by their respective offices and were asked to answer the Work Planning activity led by GeoRiskPH Project Science Research Specialist I Mr. Theodore Padilla. Representatives from Lingig, Surigao del Sur, and Loreto, Agusan del Sur, presented their Re-Entry Action Plans, detailing how they plan to integrate the GeoRiskPH platforms into their respective office workflows. By the end of the training, participants who completed the required outputs were given a certificate of completion. The Best Surveyor award was also given to Mr. Larry Jhun Agudo for garnering the greatest number of created building footprints during the two-day training. Ms. Rosario Jra Alon took the stage to close the program, congratulating the 73 participants for completing the training.