After the devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan and the worldwide tsunami warnings that it triggered, a lawmaker has called for the development of an ICT-led “disaster science” in the Philippines to make the country better equipped to face natural calamities.
The Disaster Science Management Center (DSMC) is a project of the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology, and Engineering (Comste), which is primed to become a regional training center for disaster preparedness.The DSMC recently announced that that Sentinel Asia, an international project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has appointed Manila Observatory as a Data Analysis Node (DAN).
A joint study by Columbia University and the World Bank entitled ‘Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis’, which identifies countries which are at high risk for six major natural hazards: earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, drought, and cyclones, has the Philippines pegged as one of riskiest countries in the world.
Published by: Newsbytes on March 14,2011
Full article: http://newsbytes.ph/2011/03/14/prioritization-of-ict-infused-%E2%80%98disaster-science%E2%80%99-pushed/
