Flashback:
Two years ago, 2015, parts of Zamboanga City came knee-deep in water caused by
heavy rains.
Is Zamboanga ready for another flood?
To better prepare communities in
Zamboanga for disasters such as flooding, flood hazard maps were created for
use by Local Government Units (LGUs) to mitigate effects of climate-related
disasters.
On February 16, 2017,
during the Ateneo de Zamboanga University-Phil LiDAR 1 Mindanao Cluster
Colloquium at Palacio del Sur, this city, the Ateneo-Phil LiDAR 1 will turn
over flood hazard maps to the municipalities covering 18 river basins in
Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga Sibugay. For Zamboanga, the hazard flood maps cover 39 barangays in Tigbao,
Vitali, Manicahan, Mercedes, Tumaga, San Jose-Gusu and Limpapa.
Phil LiDAR or
Philippines Light Imaging, Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) 1 is a project of the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Disaster Preparedness and
Mitigation, and AdZU Phil LiDAR 1, as a
partner implementing institution, was tasked to
create flood hazard maps of river basins in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
This year, 2017 marks the end of the Phil LiDAR 1 Project
and the responsibility of achieving disaster resiliency is now transferred to
the Local Government Units (LGUs) thru the turnover of the project’s final
products including the maps. The
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region 9 released a
Memorandum Circular enjoining all Local Chief Executives of Phil LiDAR target
areas to attend the Colloquium and Map Turn-over.
DOST Sec.
Fortunato dela Peña will be present at the colloquium, together with Usec for
Research and Development Rowena Cristina Guevarra, PhD, and Usec for Regional
Operations Brenda Nazareth-Manzano. Also expected to attend aside from LGUs are regional offices of
national agencies, research institutes, academic institutions and
non-government organizations.
Also present during the forum will be Dr. Enrico Paringit, program leader of
the University of the Philippines Phil LiDAR 1 program who will talk on the use
of LiDAR products in achieving resiliency as a nation in the face of changing
climate; Mario Rodriguez, AdZU Phil LiDAR 1 project leader; Manuel Luis M.
Ochotorena, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense; Dr. Elmeir
Apolinario, City DRRM Officer, and Engr. Rodrigo Sicat of the City Planning and
Development Office.
Aside from
providing the venue for the turnover of the maps and transfer of technology of
the project, the Colloquium will also gather the
five (5) State Universities, Colleges (SUCs) and Higher Education Institution
(HEIs) implementing the Phil LiDAR 1 Project in Mindanao where they will share
strategies on disaster preparedness and mitigation and orient LGUs on ways of
achieving disaster resiliency in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
With the theme,
“Retrospect. Deliver. Realize,” the Colloquium will look back on the experiences
of the SUCs and HEIs in delivering the outputs of
the project and look forward to realizing the vision of the project to achieve
a disaster-resilient Philippines by strengthening the capacity of communities
in disaster preparedness and mitigation with the use of LiDAR Products.
Phil LiDAR 1 project
leaders from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will also share how, in their
respective areas, they were able to work with the LGUs and provided assistance
during calamities. Christopher Uichanco and Engr. Ruby Magturo, from the
University of the Philippines-Diliman, will orient the LGUs on how to use the
LiDAR Products.
