DAGUPAN CITY -- The City Government, through its Public Alert and Response and Monitoring Center (PARMC), acquired two-cost effective tsunami early warning systems (TEWS) developed by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to boost the city’s existing tsunami alert system.
Mayor Belen Fernandez said the two warning devices are now installed in two strategic areas in the city, one at the Malimgas Public Market and the other in Barangay Lucao.
“One of my priorities when I began my work as your mayor in 2013 was to ensure that we utilize and improve whatever technology that Dagupan has in terms of disaster preparedness," said Fernandez.
She addressed participants to the Scientific Seminar on Event Watching on Wednesday at the Smart Operation Center of the PARMC, an office under the City Mayor's Office, held on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the July 1990 Luzon earthquake.
PARMC project director Professor Nicanor Melecio said the seminar was designed to develop competency leading to expertise in the use of Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (Redas) combined with the earthquake and tsunami portals.
“Given the reality of tsunami arrival in Dagupan which is within 14 minutes only, the need for expertise in doing simulation combined with actual event tracking within this short window-of-safety cannot be over-emphasized,” said Melecio.
The topics discussed in the seminar were earthquake simulation, scenario generation, actual detection, actual public alerting drill within window-of-safety and actual monitoring of unfolding scenario.
Angel Lanuza, senior science research specialist of Phivolcs, was the scientific lecturer especially in the operation of the TEWS during the seminar.
Mayor Fernandez said the seminar was another significant step undertaken to ease apprehensions of the people about the city’s vulnerability from effects of disasters.
She called on the participants to understand, participate and get involved and learn from the seminar.
"The things that we learned here today, I believe, will empower us more to be able to respond smartly, safely and with due consideration to the limited time involved," said Fernandez. (PNA)