FOCUS ON UNDERSTANDING DISASTER SCIENCE - ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara said that there is a need to understand the science of dealing with disasters in and to establish the Disaster Science Management Center (DSMC) in order to better prepare the nation for the dealing with the multiple disasters that hit the country.

Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), noted that the DSMC is envisioned to become a regional hub for disaster science where our scientists can help prepare officials and LGU's to handle natural calamities.

In a lecture yesterday at the Ateneo University, Dr. Kelvin Rodolfo discussed the effects of humanity on global warming and climate change. Dr. Rodolfo is Professor Emeritus with the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Senior Visiting Fellow of Earth System Science of the Manila Observatory(MO) . He is also a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and the Philippine-American Academy of Science and Engineering (PAASE).

This marks the first of a series that will present an overview of the effects of climate change and will evolve into more technical discussions about disaster science. Angara said that this series of lectures marks the beginning of the DSMC.

Angara said that the ongoing lectures will tackle issues like how flooding and can affect insurance companies and how to quickly adopt Renewable Energy Systems to lessen local fossil fuel use. Both local and foreign scientists and experts will be lecturing.

"We need the DSMC to help us prepare for the typhoons and similar disasters that will continue to threaten the country. The government needs to be able to understand how to develop an advanced and real-time information dissemination strategy so people can better prepare to handle such events," noted Angara.

COMSTE has prioritized the creation of the DSMC and is working with the MO to finalize proposals for its foundation.

The center is set to become a training center that will focus on scenario-type learning utilizing technology for disaster mitigation and management. Taiwan and Japan are already actively cooperating with training of local experts.

The DSMC is a public-private initiative that the scientific community can use to better understand the mechanics of managing disasters with the cooperation of neighboring countries that have experienced similar storms and natural calamities as the Philippines.