An automated disaster planningtool, scheduled to be launched on September 14, will enable local governments to prepare, work and move forward when disaster strikes.
One of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, the Philippines is regularly exposed to floods, typhoons, landslides and drought. At the edge of major tectonic plates and in the middle of a typhoon belt — all in the Pacific — it is regularly prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The Philippines, in fact, is among the top three countries in the world for population exposure and vulnerability to hazards, according to the United Nations.
The PlanSmart Ready to Ready Rebuild web application comes handy and in time when it is launched by the World Bank (WB), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
“We are committed to continuously support the Philippine government in its efforts to achieve a more responsive and efficient disaster rehabilitation and recovery planning,” said Ndiamé Diop, World Bank director for the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei.
“Local governments and communities, especially those most at risk, can greatly benefit from tools like the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web app and be empowered to take charge of their resilient recovery from disasters.”
“We developed the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild app to become a catalyst for more efficient and effective planning,” said RenatoSolidum Jr., DOST secretary.
“Through the app, local governments now have tools that will enable them to access and process data-driven information relevant to disaster risk reduction and management planning in a timely manner.”
The process of formulating a Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan, which usually takes months, can now be done more swiftly and efficiently, he said.
The app will improve decision-making and planning for pre- and post-disaster events, Solidum said.
It leverages the GeoRiskPH Integrated Platform and the Ready to Rebuild (R2R) Program, auto-generating a Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan through a pro-forma document template, he explained.
GeoRisk Philippines, a multi-agency initiative led by PHIVOLCS, has three platforms: the GeoMapperPH which may be used before, during, and after a disaster; GeoAnalyticsPH that may be used before a disaster; and the HazardHunterPH which may be used before and during a disaster.
Through the R2R Program, about 1,800 participants from 350 local governments and national government agencies beefed up their capacity and developed their respective Rehabilitation and Recovery Plans even before natural and human-induced disasters happen.
The program covered pre-and post-disaster activities from gathering baseline disaster data, formulating a Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan and its subsequent financing and implementation, facilitating emergency procurement, crafting a communications strategy, and instituting monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
