Entering the rainy season, the Local Government Units
(LGUs) of various regions have kickstarted awareness drives and preparedness
programs anchored on Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation (DRRM) for this
year's Disaster Resilience month.
The Asian Disaster Preparedness Center attributes the
effectiveness of disaster reduction and response to the effectivity of managing
information before, during, and after a disaster. However, utilizing relevant
information is largely anchored on the availability and most importantly, the reliability
of platforms for communication in place, according to Cisco Managing Director
for the Philippines Karrie Ilagan.
"A huge part of the government's DRRM measures
for a disaster-prone country like ours is vigilant preparation as this is the
foundation of our response to and recovery from disasters," said Ilagan.
"While preparation may involve tasks like having survival kits ready at
home or LGUs readying early warning systems and transport systems like rubber
boats and trucks, technology is a powerful tool that also plays a crucial role
in DRRM and in fact, cuts across all stages of our disaster approach."
Based on Cisco's multinational partnerships, Ilagan
forecasts communication technology greatly benefiting each DRRM aspect the
government has in place:
1.
Prevention and Mitigation
In order for the development of DRRM plans to be
accurate, Ilagan believes communication technology must aid community
assessments through solutions that facilitate end-to-end monitoring.
"Evaluating municipalities will need continual
monitoring of areas exposed to natural or man-made risks like flooding or even
vehicular accidents," she said.
Ilagan also highlighted that the reliability of these
surveillance solutions is hinged on cloud platforms that allow seamless data
gathering, storage, and exchange, easing the generation of vital community
reports. Likewise, continual communication on surveyed areas are dependent on
communication solutions that facilitate consistent exchanges between LGUs and their
communities to ensure these reports are updated.
2.
Preparedness
Ilagan further discussed that strong partnerships and
coordination among all key players like LGUs and their constituents rely on
collaboration solutions that expand from traditional telecommunication
platforms.
To Ilagan Video Conferencing will innovate
communication between these LGU's, giving critical meetings full context while
maximizing the time of each stakeholder through an all in one platform. With advanced video conferencing technology,
stakeholders will be able to utilize all the benefits of reliable audio
conferencing with the added value of visual aids.
"We can't grasp in its entirety how much valuable
time has gone to waste in preparation just because stakeholders had difficulty
relaying critical information to each other. Visual reports are understood,
appreciated, and applied faster when everyone involved can see them because
they transcend verbal challenges in collaboration."
3.
Response
Collaboration among stakeholders facilitated by
reliable communication solutions carry over to the next DRRM aspect of
response. Integrated and Coordinated search, rescue, and retrieval capacities
are fortified with resilient, uninterrupted communication among municipality
Network Operation Centers.
On the other end, mobile IP-based communication
systems will aid on-ground operations using small-scale, independent Voice Over
Internet Protocol (VOIP)—using the internet to facilitate phone calls. These
can be enforced to bridge possible communication gaps caused by damaged or
destroyed infrastructure.
Tactical kits that are easy to deploy and navigate
without the need for technical experts will greatly benefit early recovery
implementations as well by assisting in the public's connection to family,
friends, and colleagues in devastated regions.
4.
Rehabilitation and Recovery
Finally, on the road to recovery and rehabilitation,
communication technology can aid reconstruction efforts for disaster and
climate change resilient infrastructure through faster exchanges. Quick relay
of data from small municipalities to national government offices like the
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRRMC) has the
potential to hasten assistance. Tactical solutions can ease reporting on
potential or new hazards each region must take into account and can help
facilitate monitoring for rehabilitation progress.
While recovery efforts are underway, mobile VOIP
solutions can also provide interim connectivity infrastructure for constituents
as communication tower reconstructions take place.
"We have plenty of use cases from different
countries for our communication and collaboration solutions, Meraki Wifi,
Webex, and Emergency Communication Kit--but all of them contributed to the
effectivity of each nation's disaster plan and we see the same potential in the
Philippines," Ilagan concluded.
