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Phivolcs’ Web-based disaster risk reduction tool launched

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) launched on Thursday its latest Web-based disaster risk reduction tool in time with the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1990 Luzon earthquake.

Named GeoMapper PH, this web and mobile application was designed to collect and update natural hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity data to further enhance natural disaster preparedness of the local government units.

Developed by Phivolcs and GeoRisk PH, a multi-agency project funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), the GeoMapper PH also aims to empower authorities to make comprehensive, appropriate, and well-informed decisions and actions for disaster management.

“We are promoting this and we want to institutionalize the use of GeoMapper PH to local government units (LGUs) and national government agencies (NGAs) because we want the data being contributed to the GeoRisk PH integrated system to be accurate and government agencies are made accountable in the contribution of the data,” Mabelline Cahulogan of GeoRisk PH said in a virtual press briefing.

According to Cahulogan, LGUs and NGAs will be given username and password to access the app for data collection, analysis, and visualization.

Should the app be institutionalized, Cahulogan said it can be used to develop the national exposure database in the country which is very crucial for assessment on hazard, risk, and impact, as well as mapping for decision making and developing science-based policies.

Phivolcs officer-in-charge Director Renato Solidum Jr. said the enhancement of their monitoring system will further improve the bureau’s operations and data for disaster risk reduction management.

“The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown to us that large scale disasters can affect the whole country but in urban areas, large scale disasters can severely impact our economy, our operations. But unlike COVID-19 pandemic the effect of large earthquake events can be far more devastating because the impact is long-lasting,” he added.

“Ang pagpapabilis ng information at ‘yung mga technologies ay for improvement of our operation at ‘yung datos na makukuha ay magagamit sa pagdidisenyo ng mga buildings ng tama (The acceleration of information and technologies are for the improvement of our operation and the data available can be used to design buildings correctly),”  Solidum said.

The GeoMapper PH is the latest web tool introduced by Phivolcs and GeoRisk PH following the HazardHunterPH was launched also in July last year and the GeoAnalyticsPH: Tsunami Analytics in November.

HazardHunterPH is a web application used to generate assessment reports on the user’s location, featuring a summary of seismic, volcanic, and hydro-meteorological hazards, along with explanations and recommendations.

While GeoAnalyticsPH: Tsunami Analytics is a web app that is able to give summary reports on population, schools, and health facilities exposed to tsunami hazards nationwide. It can also calculate the total area exposed to tsunami.

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