Siargao communities ravaged by super typhoon Odette are now a step closer to becoming more climate resilient municipalities, following the conduct of the second phase of Komunidad Global’s climate project in the island province.
In the second part of Resilient-Siargao Project training, the participating towns of Sta. Monica, San Isidro, Del Carmen, Burgos, Dapa, San Benito, Socorro, Pilar, and General Luna were introduced to Komunidad’s Public Web App, Automation Report, Mobile App and SMS Alert System.
The one-day training, held in the nine towns in different days from July 5 to August 10, aimed to help municipality officers and other stakeholders to streamline their disaster preparedness, reduction and response protocols, empowering them to build more climate-resilient communities post-Odette.
This follows the successful conduct of the first phase of Komunidad’s project last April where representatives from Siargao municipalities were taught about Weather/Climate and Tropical Cyclone and Enterprise Web App.
We at Komunidad believe that timely and accurate information dissemination is key to saving more lives and minimizing risks due to disasters.
Towards this goal, different stakeholders from the nine different municipalities, including Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officers, learned about the features of resilientsiargao.ph – a public web app by Komunidad, so they can strengthen their disaster risk monitoring and preparedness. The MDRRMOs will also be empowered to make more informed decisions and take proactive measures to protect their communities amid disasters.
Another part of the project is the establishment of automated reports and SMS alerts to affected communities. While it was noted that some areas have limited or no cell service connectivity, the training has helped to close out these communication gaps.
With this, Komunidad had successfully enrolled MDRRMOs on its automated report system where they can receive daily weather updates and integrate these in their pre-disaster risk assessments starting October.
To ensure that the participating municipalities can apply their learnings from the training, a comprehensive monitoring plan in the coming months has been set. This step will also allow Komunidad to continuously recalibrate its dashboard and systems to make it more effective and responsive to the needs of different communities.
The project is empowered by Komunidad and GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Swedish International Cooperation Agency.
