DOST - PHIVOLCS to conduct geohazard communication in Caraga
BUTUAN CITY -- In its continuous effort to bridge the gap between technical concepts and public understanding of geological hazards, the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS), in coordination with the DOST Caraga, Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga, and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga, will hold a seminar-workshop entitled, “PHIVOLCS InfoPress: Understanding and Communicating Geological Hazards,” on 16 May 2024 at the VCDU Prince Hotel in Butuan City.
DOST-PHIVOLCS aims to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the geohazard information communicated to the public, empowering them to make informed decisions and to take appropriate actions, especially during emergencies and disasters.
Through the PHIVOLCS InfoPress, the Institute’s scientists will explain commonly used terms in reporting geologic hazards and their impacts; present the earthquake and tsunami scenarios in the region; orient the participants on how to prepare and properly respond; and exchange insights on effective geohazard communication with the participants, who are private and government media, public information officers, and frontliners from OCD and PIA.
To cap, there will be a workshop where the participants can demonstrate their learnings from the discussion. Just last year, three significant offshore earthquakes hit the island of Mindanao namely, the magnitude (M) 6.8 earthquake in Davao Occidental in November; and the M7.4 and M6.8 in Surigao del Sur in December. In these situations, the media, information officers, and disaster risk reduction frontliners play a crucial role in communicating important information to the public, to help save lives and reduce damage to properties and economic loss.
The DOST-PHIVOLCS encourages the media practitioners and information officers to partake in the activity as the key partners in building well-informed, better-prepared, and more resilient communities in the Philippines through accurate and timely communication of volcano, earthquake, and tsunami information. (DOST-PHIVOLCS/PIA-Caraga)
