Disaster Preparedness Pushed in Project NOAH Forum

The Philippines is a rather aggressive contender in a statistics of world-class scale--disasters. As Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards Project (Project NOAH) Executive Director Dr. Alfredo Mahar Lagmay presented in the dialogue with the Consuelo Foundation, it is not something to be happy about. In recent memory, the country has been a host to a number of disasters that posed millions worth of damage and thousands of casualties. 

This, as was highlighted in the forum, underscores the need for better and more appreciated and used technologies for disaster mitigation and response. Among the other presenters in the discourse were Professor Dennis Hwang of the University of Hawaii, Dr. Karl Kim also of University of Hawaii, Executive Director Jainey Bavishi of the Asia Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction and Response (APDR3) Network, and Ms. Audrey Galo of Architecture for Humanity. The speakers, in their presentations, also showed that there is hope for the country to be in the top ranks--this time, of disaster preparedness.

The forum was organized to discuss possible opportunities for both the Foundation and the Program, especially in the rehabilitation efforts in areas ravaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Typhoon Yolanda) last November 2013. Said event was held on August 18, 2014 at the National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) audio-visual room. It was attended by representatives from the Consuelo Foundation and the different components of Project NOAH, including the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM-LiDAR) Project.