The Behind the Science Podcast offers unique insights into the stories behind published scientific works—from conceptualization and funding to the moment researchers deem their findings publishable.
In the 12th episode of Behind the Science Podcast, Ms. Carmille Marie Escape shares the story behind NOAH’s (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) research response to the 2018 Naga City Landslide, which tragically claimed the lives of 78 residents, with 6 still missing.
Ms. Escape begins by sharing her almost serendipitous journey into the field, which happened through a series of chance. She parallels this with the nature of scientific work, which, despite meticulous planning and organization, often involves an element of chance—similar to how the landslide occurred and how she ended up on the team studying it.
Beyond the interesting discussions of the mechanisms of the landslide and how she accomplished her work without once setting foot in the field, Ms. Escape also reflects on the need to balance scientific work with human impact. While black-and-white data might easily indicate that an area is unsafe, addressing the social nuances of housing and livelihoods presents a more complex challenge.
The episode concludes with Ms. Escape offering advice to aspiring young researchers, especially those engaged in disaster risk reduction and management. She shares that researchers in this field are constantly exposed to disasters, and, thus, regularly come face to face with irreversible yet preventable loss. Despite this, she encourages young researchers to find comfort and motivation in their work, reminding them that behind all the numbers and graphs, their efforts have the power to save lives.
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Article spotlight
Lagmay AMF, Escape CM, Ybañez AA, Suarez JK, Cuaresma G. 2020. Anatomy of the Naga City Landslide and Comparison With Historical Debris Avalanches and Analog Models. Frontiers in Earth Science. 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00312
Do you want to nominate a scientist in the field of DRR and geosciences to be featured on the Behind the Science Podcast? Or, have you read an author’s publication whose behind-the-scenes story you are eager to hear about? Let us know by emailing us at upri.educ@up.edu.ph and we will do our best to get them featured on BTS Podcast!