Filipino scientist lauded for disaster research

Alfredo Mahar Lagmay, Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH) project, has been awarded the 2015 Plinius Medal by the European Geosciences Union (EGU). Lagmay received the award for his research focusing on volcanic hazards, earthquakes, floods, typhoons, and landslides in the Philippines. Lagmay also received the Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) Award for 2013.

 

With more than 12,000 international members, the EGU is a non-profit international union established in 2002 focusing on geosciences and planetary and space sciences. The EGU awards the Plinius Medal to scientists that work on natural hazards research.

 

Project NOAH was launched in 2012 in response to President Benigno Aquino III’s call to implement a responsive disaster prevention and mitigation program. Some of Project NOAH’s component projects include the Hydromet Sensors Development, DREAM-LIDAR 3-D Mapping Project, Flood NET-Flood Management Modeling Project, Hazards Information Media, and Strategic Communication Intervention. A Project NOAH app is also available for Android smartphones. It provides real-time weather information and notifications can be set up for automatic weather alerts during specified intervals.

 

Programs like Project NOAH are especially important in the Philippines, a country that’s consistently been among the most disaster-prone countries in the world for multiple years.

 

“The Philippines’ extreme exposure to a myriad of natural hazards is reflected by the inclusion of eight of the country’s cities among the ten most at risk globally, including Tuguegarao (2nd), Lucena (3rd), Manila (4th), San Fernando (5th) and Cabanatuan (6th),” said Verisk Maplecroft’s 5th Annual Natural Hazards Risk Atlas. — Bea Montenegro/TJD, GMA News