UP RI warmly welcomed the 10 representatives from the DepEd Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service (DRRMS) led by their Director Atty. Christian Rivera. The discussion commenced with UPRI Chief Science Research Specialist, Mr. Ongkiko with an overview of UP RI and a brief explanation of the Knowledge-Sharing division. Ms. Mariano of the Institution Building (IB) presented the IB division’s mandate and projects.
The Director of the Education division, Mr. Gamala, talked about their division’s undertakings. Meanwhile, the Director of Research and Creative Work, Dr. Atienza tackled the projects of RCW. She mentioned the division’s board game development, Sakunwari, which caters to DRRM practitioners. Mr. Dennis added some inputs on Climate Change Adaptation and mainstreaming it into the K-12 curriculum.
DepEd Director Rivero expressed his interest in collaborating with UP Resilience Institute. He agreed with the creative ideas and proposals of Dr. Atienza of Research and Creative Work. Indeed it is essential to strategically disseminate Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) knowledge and information among students. The Department of Education acknowledged the significance of student awareness in this aspect.
Dr. Lagmay, the Executive Director of UP RI took over the discussion on the NOAH division. He shared the projects and involvements of the institute. Mr. Esguerra of the NOAH Planning expounded on the plans and services they cater, especially among various Local Government Units (LGUs). The Flood Modeling Component was detailed by Ms. Chua. Their works include flood modeling and simulation, field evaluation and condition assessment, hydraulic and hydrologic analysis, and impact assessment.
Ms. Sulapas reported on behalf of the Hazards Assessment Team. She tackled geologic and hydrometeorological hazards. Their services include probabilistic modeling which covers storm surge maps, landslide hazard maps, ground shaking, liquefaction, tsunamis, tephra fall, land subsidence, and others. The WebGIS Component was explained by Ms. Bercito. She highlighted how the works of the scientists and researchers are projected into the NOAH website to be shared with the public.
DepEd DRRMS and UP Resilience Institute aspire to have collaborative projects and programs anchored in disaster resilience.
By Daffodil Cleto (July 19, 2023)
