DOST-PHIVOLCS conducted a training on the use of GeoRiskPH Platforms last August 11-12, 2022, for the City of Baguio. A total of 32 participants from the different offices of the local government of Baguio City including the DRRM Office, Social Welfare and Development Office, Planning and Development Office, Engineering Office, Assessors Office, Veterinary and Agriculture Office, Environment and Parks Management Office, Buildings and Architecture Office, and Bureau of Fire Protection, as well as representatives from St. Louis University and University of the Cordilleras, were present during the training.
The training aims to enhance the capacity of Baguio City in hazards & risk assessment using GeoRiskPH platforms. Mr. Louie Glenn Lardizabal, LDRRM Officer III of Baguio City, and Dr. Teresito C. Bacolcol, Deputy Director of DOST-PHIVOLCS, delivered the opening messages on the first day of the training. The participants expressed their interest in utilizing the platforms not only for their project monitoring, hazard assessments and mapping, LDRRM plan enhancements, land use planning, and Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment completion, but also for monitoring other sectors like infrastructure, health, and social welfare. The City DRRM Office also wanted to create a Report a Disaster form, specifically for the use of Baguio City, where citizens can report incidents and visualize these data on a dashboard. Some offices requested to have their local data added to their GeoMapperPH Platforms.
GeoMapperPH is an application developed by GeoRisk Philippines designed to empower National Government Agencies and Local Government Units in data collection and visualization. It has 2 components: the Exposure Data Mapper, used to map information relevant to the mandate of the agency and LGUs, and the Situation Data Mapper, designed to collect information on the impacts of hazards and disasters and visualize information on a dashboard. GeoMapperPH serves as a platform to facilitate the easy collection and updating of hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity data to support the decision-making process before, during, and after disasters. NGAs and LGUs can use this application for free.
The training concluded with closing messages from Ms. Antonette Anaban, head of the City DRRM Office, and Ms. Mabelline Cahulogan, head of the Geomatics and Hazard Assessment Service Section of DOST-PHIVOLCS.