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The Typhoon Preparedness Center of the Naga College Foundation conducts a Climate Change Forum on November 10, 2009 at the 3^rd Floor seminar Hall St Building.  With the Theme” Responding to the challenges of Climate Change” the forum was participated by around 100 NCF students coming from college level and High School Level.  The forum aims to provide understanding on what is Climate Change and How can youth and students be involve.  Discussion on the Impacts of Climate change was given by Ms. Joannah B. Ramores, Program Officer of TPC, Engineer Geronimo Buenavente, dean of Engineering gave insights on Understanding Floods and the relationship of Climate Change. Among the participants of the forum were student volunteers of TPC and the Philippines Army Reservice Association- a group of ROTC students who were trained and organized to respond to natural calamities such as typhoon/floods/fire.

 An oath taking ceremony for the newly elected officials the TPC volunteer group was held in the afternoon of the same day. Mr. Giovani Marquez (President), Elton Nepomoceno( Vice President) Manelyn Del Ayre ( Secretary) Ella Herras ( Treasurer) Jolly Ann Datos ( Auditor) Ma. Patricia Tracena (  PIO) Maricon Taparo and Odelon Remoquillo ( Business Managers) were formally accepted as officers of the group.

After the Oath taking ceremony, the TPC Volunteers along with the PARA proceeded to Barangay Sabang Naga City to integrate with the community.  The group were assisted by Barangay Kagawad Guy De La Cruz, officer in charge for Disaster Management and education. Captain Jacobo welcomes the students in the barangay, a short presentation was prepared by Kgd. De la Cruz presenting the disaster profile of Sabang and the recent efforts being done at the barangay level.

 After the presentation, the group was toured to the site where the Tracking chart was installed and the fiber glass boat dedicated for various clean up drive and rescue and response activity of the barangay.

As part of the Track the Storm Project, around 20 faculty members were trained  at NCF to serve as the speakers pool for the project, held on November 6,2009 at St Annex Naga College Foundation, the activity dubbed as Trainer's Training on Typhoon Tracking aims to capacitate faculty member in understanding and tracking  typhoon.  The partcipants will have more training and will be incharge of the integration and teaching of the students.  Mr Michael V. Padua, director of Typhoon Preparedness Center serve as the main speaker while Ms. Joannah Ramores provided the overview of the center.  Fr. Dan Imperial. NCF Vice President for academics graced the occasion by giving the welcome remarks. emphasizing That through direct involvement of teh school in disaster risk reduction, is a way of making a big difference.  He further challenge the participants to continue making a difference and Making it Happen.  student volunteers of TPC also actively participated during the training.

In Bicol, a private center warns gov't of coming storms

ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV

11/03/2009 | 08:50 PM

Throughout the country, Pagasa (“hope") has also come to mean “weather forecaster" since it is the acronym for the state meteorological agency. But somewhere in the Bicol region, there is another source of hope when a weather disturbance threatens.

Like other Bicol provinces, Camarines Sur is among the country’s most typhoon-hit provinces, and had to brace itself against all four cyclones that hit Luzon in quick succession since end-September.

But thanks to the province’s Typhoon Preparedness Center, local government officials were able to get weather advisories that the state weather bureau, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), could not always provide.

“Malaking bagay po talaga ang Typhoon Preparedness Center namin dito. Nag-issue sila ng hourly updates lalo na ‘yung within the six-hour interval ng Pagasa (Our Typhoon Preparedness Center has really been a big help here. They issue hourly updates especially those within Pagasa’s six-hour interval)," said Edison Petalio of the Camarines Sur Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).

The Typhoon Preparedness Center in Naga City provides "localized" weather forecasts to the provincial government of Camarines Sur to warn residents of coming weather disturbances. Photo from the NCF-TPC website

The Naga College Foundation, a non-government organization, established its Typhoon Preparedness Center (TPC) six months ago with the aim of providing Bicolanos with early warning whenever a weather disturbance nears the region.

Since then, the TPC has become what PDCC officials described as a “good supplementary data source" to information provided by the state weather bureau, which usually posts storm bulletins every six hours.

“In between gaps, may nakukuhanan tayo ng (we have another source of) information," Petalio said.

TPC Director David Michael Padua, known to locals as “Mr. Typhoon," said the main purpose of the private weather station is to more thoroughly inform people in Camarines Sur of approaching weather disturbances.

TPC relies on forecasts of foreign weather agencies, which Padua and two other volunteers translate into information useful for their own local weather forecasts, to alert the provincial and other local governments of Camarines Sur.

For instance, when cyclone “Santi" battered the nearby province of Camarines Norte last week, the TPC posted weather advisories in its website every three hours. These weather advisories have been localized, providing information such as typhoon location and strength specifically for Camarines Sur’s four districts.

“Yung ginagawa namin, para talaga sa karaniwang tao. Para maalis ang kanilang pangamba at maging handa sila (What we’re doing is really for ordinary folk, for them to get rid of their worries and to be prepared)," he said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV.

The center also conducts trainings and seminars for government officials, students and teachers, for them to have a better understanding of weather forecasting and early warning during typhoons.

Working with local gov’t, media

Padua, a University of the Philippines geography graduate who has been doing weather forecasts since 1996, said meteorology has always been his passion.

“Kahit noong bata pa ako, nae-excite ako kapag may bagyo. Lumalabas pa ako ng bahay kapag ganoon (Ever since I was a kid, I get excited whenever there is a typhoon. I even go out of the house in such weather)," Padua said.

He opted to go back to his home province after finishing his studies to do what he loves best—weather forecasting. Luckily, the NCF, which one of his relatives own, gave him the opportunity to do so.

Although a private center, the TPC closely coordinates with local government officials to achieve its goals.

“Nakikipag-ugnayan talaga kami sa local government para matulungan namin sila, at matulungan din nila kami (We link up with local governments to help them, and also for them to help us)," Padua said.

He added that the Camarines Sur provincial government is planning to provide the center with a Doppler radar (a modern weather radar that uses the Doppler effect; see Doppler radar) for better rainfall forecasting.

The TPC is also tapping local media in Camarines Sur and the Internet for it to be able to disseminate its weather advisories.

“Sa Internet kasi, halos lahat ng data, nandiyan na. Kailangan na lang ipaintindi sa layman (That’s because you can find almost all the data in the Internet, and need only to explain them in layman terms)," Padua said.

He likewise maintains a website called Typhoon2000.com, which he describes as a “one-stop shop" for information Filipinos need for a coming weather disturbance.

“Wala akong masabi sa accuracy ng forecasts nila, lalo na ‘yung sa US at sa Japan. Sana mag-improve ang Pagasa kasi nagde-deteriorate na ang
forecasts nila," he said.

(I can’t complain about the accuracy of their forecasts, especially those of the US and Japan. I hope Pagasa improves because its own forecasts are deteriorating.)

He added that Pagasa should continue training and research on weather forecasting, since the country is geographically located in a region prone to extreme disturbances such as typhoons.

“We are the number one na pinapasok ng bagyo sa mundo. Dapat tayo rin ang nangunguna sa research. Nasa gobyerno din ‘yan kasi (In the world, we are the number one country visited by cyclones. So we should also be the leader in research. It depends on the government, really)," he said.

Padua said that TPC is still relatively new, and is trying to do further research in storm tracking in the Philippines in the hope of better informing people about weather disturbances entering the country.

DOST not keen on local storm trackers

But Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Estrella Alabastro is not keen on having independent local storm trackers.

“It is something we cannot prevent, but the disadvantage is local trackers like these do not have accountability. These are just private persons. Sa Pagasa kasi, kapag medyo off ‘yung forecasts natin (That’s because with Pagasa, when our forecasts are a bit off), we really stand by it," Alabastro said in a separate interview with GMANews.TV.

Alabastro said it is better if local storm trackers like TPC will coordinate with Pagasa or DOST.

“Mas maganda pa kung makipag-ugnayan na lang siya sa amin (It would be better if he simply links up with us). (We) should listen naman to our institutions. These institutions we have are really accountable to us," she said.

Alabastro added that her department already has a modernization plan for the state weather bureau, which involves the procurement and upgrading of weather forecasting equipment, as well as the training of personnel.

“Pagasa has improved quite a bit. But we need resources. The President is good in attending to our needs. It might take time, but we will get there. We just have to have the will to do things that needs to be done," she said. – GMANews.TV

Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/176229/in-bicol-a-private-center-warns-govt-of-coming-storms

The Typhoon Preparedness Center is launching this October the project Track the Storm-the project aims to teach NCF community the technical skills and knowldge of tracking typhoon. This will be done at all year levels and withthe faculties and non teaching personnel.

The project is part of the curricular integration of TPC programs for Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change.  The Project will run for 6 months and will have its hightlight through a mass tracking excercise. Tracking storm is seen as an additional competency of the NCF community.

In partnership with the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur through Governor Luis Raymund Villafuerte, the Naga College Foundation Typhoon Preparedness Center  conducted the series of  Early Warning Seminar completing its third batch last September 24-25 at the Naga College Foundation ST Annex Building. 

The three batches of training were attended by more than 110 participants composed of disaster focal person and deputized officers of the 36 municipalities, NCF Faculty members and student volunteers. The Training aims to provide technical knowledge in early warnings such as typhoon tracking and flood forecasting that eventually will lead to the strengthening and establishment of a community based and community link early warning system in the province.  

A major highlight of the training is the presentation of the Disaster and Typhoon Tracking Chart conceptualized and developed by NCF-TPC.  The tracking chart contains the Philippine Map wherein participants are to track typhoons.  The chart also includes a map for Municipalities where specific hazards and vulnerabilities are to be identified for each municipality. This tracking charts also serves as a tool and basis for disaster planning.  NCF-TPC during the training taught the participants how to track typhoons and presented its customized warning format through its “ now casting program”.  The warning focus on the impact of typhoon per district in terms of winds, inland flooding, storm surges, landslides and the amount of rainfall to be expected per district in the province.  This customized warning was developed to responds to the local needs for information’s and warning in the event of typhoon. The project is first in the Philippines and will be installed  in the 36 municipalities in Camarines Sur. 

Experts from the Naga College Foundation-Typhoon Preparedness Center were Resource Speakers during the training; namely Mr. David Michael V. Padua, TPC Director; Mr. Juann Blenn Huelgas, United Nation and NCF-TPC consultant; Joannah B. Ramores, Project Development Officer, TPC; and Engr. Geronimo Buenavente, Dean Engineering & Technology Department, NCF.

3rd Batch of the Training composed of 12 municipalities, NCF faculty and Staff, Student Volunteers

Mr. Blenn Huelgas, NCF-TPC/UNDP consultant with teh tracking chart project for Camarines Sur

The Naga College Foundation Typhoon Preparedness Center (NCF-TPC) Launching and Fundraising Dinner was successfully held last April 30, 2009 at the NCF Grounds. It was formally opened by Dr. Carlo P. Villanueva, president of NCF.

In an effort to mainstream Disaster Risk Reduction into the local planning, the Local government of Sipocot and the Naga College Foundation-Typhoon Preparedness Center (NCF-TPC) conducted a Disaster Risk Management Conference on February 11, 2009 at Dacanay Hall of Sipocot, Camarines Sur.   The one-day conference was attended by about ninety barangay officials representing the twenty-six barangays of Sipocot. The activity is part of the program partnership initiated by NCF-TPC under Handang Komunidad: Malayo sa Kalamidad, a project that aims to prepare and develop resilient communities in the Bicol region.

Sipocot Mayor Theresa Dela Pena gave her message of support to the activity.  Two of Bicol’s disaster experts – Mr. David Michael Villanueva Padua and Mr. Juan Blenn Huelgas -- served as resource speakers during the conference. The former, who is presently the director of NCF-TPC, gave a lecture on “Understanding Tropical Cyclones”; while the latter, who is Consultant and Adviser of disaster programs in seven Asian countries, discussed “Disaster Risk Management: A Local Imperative and Standard for a Disaster Prepared LGU”.

The conference was made possible through the initiative of Ms. Rose Baldoza, Municipal Social Welfare Development Officer (MSWDO) of Sipocot and Ms. Joannah Ramores, of the NCF-TPC.

Camarines Sur, considered as one of the poor provinces in the country, has always been a passage-through of typhoons. Being a highly-agricultural community -- typhoon hazards (flood, landslides) bring devastation to lives, property and livelihood for the people of Camarines Sur.

It is in this context that the Naga College Foundation, one of the colleges in the province, put up a Typhoon Preparedness Center (TPC) that intends to provide assistance in preparing for disasters, specifically typhoons, which can result to great human and economic losses.   

Led by the so-called homegrown typhoon expert Mr. Michael Villanueva Padua - NCF, in partnership with the Manila Observatory, UP-NIGS (National Institute of Geological Sciences) and Typhoon 2000 – is organizing a Workshop-Consultation on Typhoon Disaster Preparedness Program Development for Camarines Sur on December 10, 2008 , from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. , at the Villa Caceres Hotel, Magsaysay Avenue , Naga City.

The workshop seeks to promote multi-sectoral collaboration towards disaster preparedness and the building of disaster-resilient communities in the province. Specifically, the activity aims to: (1) formally introduce to the public the NCF Typhoon Preparedness Center, its objectives and programs; (2) discuss the state of typhoon disaster preparedness in Camarines Sur; (3) identify problems which hinders the actual implementation of typhoon disaster risk reduction (DRR) program at the community level; (4) build consensur on common DRR program/strategy for cooperation; and (5) formalize partnerships for the development of DRR program for high-risk areas in Camarines Sur.   

Expected participants for this event include local government units, private sector, the academe, non-government organizations, and other sectors advocating for disaster preparedness. For inquiries, you may contact Ms. Joanna Ramores at tel nos. (054) 8117525 loc. 101 or 639175683979. You may also send an e-mail to jramores@ncf.edu.ph.