QUEZON CITY (PIA) – PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web app was launched on September 14, Wednesday to help the national government and local government units (LGUs) in formulating a comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (RRP). The technology was developed by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) in collaboration with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-Office of Civil Defense (NDRRMC-OCD), and the World Bank.
PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild is an automated planning tool designed to provide LGU officials including technical staff, disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and budget personnel with plans designed for localities and community they manage.
Both Ready to Rebuild (R2R) Program and GeoRisk Philippines Integrated Platform – GeoMapperPH, GeoAnalyticsPH, and HazardHunterPH are contributors to maximize use of web app. PlanSmart is strategically designed to be a one stop shop for efficient and effective planning of rehabilitation and recovery.
This technology is revolutionary for a country like Philippines that is prone to disaster and calamities. Through the years, the country has been hit by devastating typhoons, destructing floods and landslides, and damaging volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
Advantages of PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild
Immediate local government response, better allocation of disaster risk reduction budget, and future-ready rehabilitation are just some of the benefits both the government and the affected communities can reap from PlanSmart.
Timeliness and efficiency through automation are advantages of learning how to navigate across the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web app because it provides: a.) Latest and most accurate information for disaster risk management planning instantly, b.) Hazards in the community are identified, c.) Segments of the population as well as properties at risk are also identified.
The web app provides assessments based on the automated information - hazard maps, tables, charts. It also gives LGU officials and DRRM personnel a Local RRP based on the generated impact of a specific disaster or calamity.
Future plans for the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild web app
PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild is just the first installment among the series of PlanSmart tools that will be developed by the DOST.
As part of the continuous effort of the agency and its partners, a PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild training program will be organized for its pilot run. A total of 137 LGUs and more than 400 individuals from National Capital Region (NCR), CALABARZON (Region IV-A), Bicol Region (Region V), Central Visayas (Region VII), and CARAGA (XIII) will participate on the training program, all are graduates of the R2R Program, have existing GeoRiskPH Memorandum of Agreement with DOST-PHIVOLCS, and those that are part of the Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR) most vulnerable to climate change and disasters list.
Thus, DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. encourages the public to work together during the launch of the web app.
“Let's work together so we can plan ahead before the disaster will happen, so we can work smarter by developing effective and efficient plans so that when our communities are affected we can rebuild faster,” he said.
“The Philippines is known to be victims of disasters because we are prone to various natural hazards but with our collaborations, with the technologies developed by bright and cooperative people we can show to the whole world that we are not simply victims of disasters but through smart planning, we can be victors over disasters,” he added as the government and LGUs move forward geared with the PlanSmart Ready to Rebuild tool. (MVV – PIA CPSD)
