Interactive docu: How PHL slum dwellers can cope with floods

Two months ago, on Aug. 7, Metro Manila and nearby provinces were shocked by a monsoon deluge, resulting in the evacuation of over 700,000 people. 

 

The disaster became the perfect backdrop for an international organization's initiative to educate Filipinos on various geological hazards and ways of coping with such disasters in the future.

 

In line with the commemoration of Earth Science Week from Oct. 14 to 19, international charity organization Christian Aid launched "Big River Rising," an interactive documentary "which demonstrates the importance of science in helping Filipino slum dwellers cope with flooding."

 

 

"The documentary follows Belen, who has been trained by Christian Aid partner the Centre for Disaster Preparedness to monitor the river and alert her community, as she helps coordinate the evacuation while her shantytown home disappears beneath the floodwaters," Christian Aid said in a statement.

 

Complete with high-quality photos, videos, audio and graphics, the online documentary explained how scientists and other local partners worked alongside Christian Aid to train communities to understand their environment and local weather systems, and to develop early-warning systems and community evacuation plans.

 

Local partners included the Manila Observatory, the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, and the National Institute of Geological Sciences. 

 

The project was also funded by UKAid.

 

Christian Aid Senior Program Officer in the Philippines Allan Vera said in a statement, "If we really want poor people to understand future risks and have opportunities to thrive and not just survive, we have to collaborate with scientists. This will help to protect poor people from future disasters and give them information to make the right decisions."

 

On Oct. 11, United Nations University, together with other international partners, came out with a study that ranked the Philippines as the third most disaster-prone country in the world for the second straight year.

 

Metro Manila, its capital region, is not foreign to the impacts of natural disasters such as floods and super typhoons. Currently, it is also home to more than 11 million people which include about 2 million urban poor. It is one of the most densely populated metropolis in the world, making it more vulnerable to impacts of natural disasters. — TJD, GMA News

 

---

Earth Science Week, celebrated yearly from Oct. 14 to 19, started in 1998, through the initiative of American Geosciences Institute, to help the public "gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth Sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth."